Secretary of State John Kerry gave this speech at the Tokyo Institute of Technology on April 15, 2013. He discussed the commitment of the United States to strengthen its partnerships with Asia and the Pacific.

Secretary of State John Kerry spoke on April 12, 2013, at the American Chamber of Commerece in Seoul after his meetings with South Korean President Park and South Korean Foreign Minister Yun. He discussed economic cooperation between the Republic of Korea and the United States and nuclear issues in the region.

In 2012, China imported nearly 60 million tons of soybeans, most of which were genetically modified. In that sense, even if GM foods are found to have any long-term hazards, one probably should not worry too much about only China's GM foods, but about those from all countries, including the United States, the largest producer and consumer of GM foods.

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Rather than seeking regime overthrow in North Korea and Iran, Washington should pursue an updated version of Soviet-era containment policy, says expert Robert Litwak.

Thomas Bollyky writes about how national patent laws are affecting pharmaceutical cost differentials around the world.

Myanmar's emergence from military rule has also spawned some of the worst ethnic and religious violence in decades and fear of prolonged civil conflict, writes CFR's Joshua Kurlantzick.

For many senior Pakistani spies, the man sitting in the jail cell represented solid proof of their suspicions that the C.I.A. had sent a vast secret army to Pakistan, men who sowed chaos and violence as part of the covert American war in the country. For the C.I.A., the eventual disclosure of [Raymond] Davis's role with the agency shed an unflattering light on a post–Sept. 11 reality: that the C.I.A. had farmed out some of its most sensitive jobs to outside contractors — many of them with neither the experience nor the temperament to work in the war zones of the Islamic world.

The recent announcement of a BRICS development bank raised many questions. Isobel Coleman writes about the potential structure and purpose of the BRICS development bank and its implications for international development and the global economy.

After former secretary of state Hillary Clinton's speech on April 5, Gayle Tzemach Lemmon observes, "the Clinton megaphone no longer requires a Washington translator."

Kevin Rudd, former prime minister and foreign minister of Australia, discusses the refocusing of U.S. interests in Asia, particularly looking at the future of U.S.-Chinese relations.

Some argue that the best way to restrain North Korea is to strengthen sanctions, principally by putting more pressure on China to reduce its trade with North Korea. Others advocate a diplomatic approach and argue that engagement, not escalation, would be more effective. What all parties need to remember is that actions speak louder than words.

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Boao Forum is an annual conference that brings together government, business, and academic leaders to discuss economic and social issues in Asia. Chinese President Xi Jinping gave the keynote speech, titled Working Together Toward a Better Future for Asia and the World, on April 7, 2013.

Laurie Garrett outlines inconsistencies in the Chinese government's reports about the ongoing H7N9 outbreak.

"While it was not the first country where the United States used drones, [Pakistan] became the laboratory for the targeted killing operations that have come to define a new American way of fighting, blurring the line between soldiers and spies and short-circuiting the normal mechanisms by which the United States as a nation goes to war."

Kevin Rudd, former prime minister and foreign minister of Australia, discusses the refocusing of U.S. interests in Asia, particularly looking at the future of U.S.-China relations.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has focused his second term in office to implementing an audacious set of economic policies designed to spur the country out of its decades-long deflation and sluggish growth, explains this Backgrounder.

Yanzhong Huang responds to a China File conversation on the recent bird flu outbreak in China.

China has diverse interests in Afghanistan, including extracting resources and promoting regional stability. But China's future policy toward Afghanistan will largely depend on whether there is a valid election and credible government in Kabul after the planned U.S. drawdown in 2014.

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Jagdish Bhagwati and Amrita Narlikar write that the only way to ensure safe working environments is to make them "legislated and pursued with zeal."

Daniel Markey leads a conversation on sectarian violence in Pakistan, as part of CFR's Religion and Foreign Policy Conference Call series.