The East China Sea is a source of vital resources, especially fisheries and natural resources like gas and oil. Regional cooperation on fisheries conservation as well as joint energy development projects could go a long way to offsetting tensions over territorial disputes.

Read full answer

Ambassador of Japan to the United States H.E. Kenichiro Sasae spoke at Brookings in Washington, D.C. on March 22, 2013.

Joshua Kurlantzick explores why the "Beijing Consensus" has attracted so many admirers in recent years in this excerpt from his new book Democracy in Retreat.

Daniel Markey writes, "The mysterious Pakistani-Canadian cleric is back, and he's shaking up the country's politics."

Former prime minister of Australia Kevin Rudd discusses the ongoing situation surrounding North Korea's nuclear weapons program and the future of U.S.-China relations with Foreign Affairs managing editor Jonathan Tepperman.

UN Special Rapporteur on Human rights and Counterterrorism Ben Emmerson released this statement on March 14, 2013, following his meetings in Pakistan with victims of drone strikes.

North Korean Supreme Command of the Korean Army released this statement on March 13, 2013, saying that South Korea is provoking war on the peninsula.

In light of Afghan president Karzai's recent comments, Leslie H. Gelb advocates an expedited withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Park Ihn-hwi of Ewha Woman's University discusses the new Park Geun-hye administration's likely foreign policy, domestic challenges to her initiatives, and implications for the U.S.-ROK alliance.

National Security Advisor Thomas Donilon gave these remarks at Asia Society in New York on March 11, 2013. He discussed why the Obama administration "rebalanced" to Asia, how the United States will contribute to the region's security, and regional and economic architecture.

The Six-Party Talks serve as a forum for the denuclearization of North Korea, but analysts say the negotiations have been hindered by Pyongyang's belligerence and the shifting priorities of participating nations.

This report looks at why extremist strategic communications in Pakistan have been so successful and what it would take for the government and its allies to reverse the gains of what is sometimes called "the al-Qaeda worldview." Like all good communications campaigns, extremist messaging is grounded in a reality. In this case, that reality is the views and emotions—and the narratives that articulate them—that were born out of the establishment and subsequent conduct of the state of Pakistan.

The UN Security Council passed this resolution including economic sanctions on North Korea on March 7, 2013, after North Korea's nuclear test on February 12, 2013. North Korea said it will end its armistice agreement with South Korea if the resolution passed.

North Korean Supreme Command of the Korean Army released this statement on March 5, 2013, saying that North Korea will no longer recognize the Korean Armistice Agreement if the UN Security Council passed a resolution and sanctions against North Korea after its February nuclear test.

Several high-profile sexual assault cases in India have sparked a national debate over women's rights and the need for social reform in a rapidly modernizing country, explains this Backgrounder.

The answer is simple: 9/11. The most costly terrorist attack ever was carried out from Afghanistan. The United States showed bipartisan determination to bring the perpetrators to justice and—the part that explains our continuing engagement in Afghanistan—to prevent its soil from ever being used again to stage terrorist attacks.

Read full answer

The Obama administration's "pivot" to Asia made sense, because China was starting to doubt U.S. staying power. Now that Washington has sent Beijing a clear message it will be around for the long haul, however, the time has come for the two countries to deepen and institutionalize their relationship in order to secure Asia's lasting peace and prosperity.

Instead of continuing their endless battling, the United States and Pakistan should acknowledge that their interests simply do not converge enough to make them strong partners. Giving up the fiction of an alliance would free up Washington to explore new ways of achieving its goals in South Asia. And it would allow Islamabad to finally pursue its regional ambitions -- which would either succeed once and for all or, more likely, teach Pakistani officials the limitations of their country's power.

Benn Steil's Wall Street Journal op-ed explains the unique historical circumstances in which the Bretton Woods international monetary system emerged in 1944, and why calls for "a new Bretton Woods" today will go unsatisfied.