China’s importance to the burgeoning economies of Southeast Asia has increased remarkably since the mid-1990s [1]. This has been led by dramatic growth in trade already large enough to significantly alter the foreign policy outlooks and priorities of Southeast Asian nations [2]. While Southeast Asia-bound... MORE

For a decade or more there has been active discussion of a security framework, structure, or mechanism for Northeast Asia. The discussions, which intensified over the last half decade, coincided with the Six-Party Talks concerning North Korea’s nuclear weapon program. Many imagined that the talks,... MORE

While political reform is off the agenda, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has taken some visible steps toward improving the quality of its cadres in light of the large number of unexpected and near-disastrous “mass incidents” in this critical Olympic year. For example, the low... MORE

Hardly anybody still believes that the Beijing Olympics will have the same kind of globalizing and liberalizing effect on Chinese politics that the 1988 Seoul Olympics had on the democratic development of South Korea. Yet even fewer expected the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) authorities to... MORE

The fall of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War had a profound impact not only on how security and intelligence professionals viewed the world of espionage but also on the motivations of the players and the targets of their espionage activities.... MORE

In spite of thawing cross-Strait ties, both militaries on each side of the Taiwan Strait remain on high alert. According to multiple Chinese news sources that cite an article first published in Taiwan-based newspaper China Times, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) has reportedly upgraded its... MORE

Three months ago, on April 11th, Taiwan's Vice-President-elect Vincent Siew sat down together with Chinese President Hu Jintao at the Boao Forum, held annually on Hainan Island off China's southern coast. The Boao Forum had never fulfilled its original promise as a Chinese-hosted global conference... MORE

Recent improvements in cross-Strait relations, highlighted by the agreement to begin regular weekend cross-Strait charter flights and permit for 3,000 Chinese tourists per day to visit Taiwan, may suggest to some that there is no pressing need for Taiwan to approve further increases in defense... MORE

While Ma Ying-jeou’s landslide victory at the presidential polls has lowered tension in the Taiwan Strait, and injected a shot of morphine into Taiwan's stock market, it is premature and unrealistic to expect a leap forward in Taipei-Beijing ties any time soon. The future of... MORE

Taiwanese Defense Minister Chen Chao-min is reportedly considering plans to cut the Republic of China (Taiwan) military force to about 200,000 to 250,000 in a six year time span, which will require reducing around 6,000 troops each consecutive year (NOWnews [Taiwan], July 1). The plan... MORE