China is believed to spend billions of dollars to boost its international image, but it has yet to see a marked return on its investment in soft power.

China and India increasingly vie for strategic advantage in the Indian Ocean, while also cooperating on some transnational security issues.  

China has become Africa’s largest trade partner and has greatly expanded its economic ties to the continent, but its growing activities there have raised questions about its noninterference policy.  …

South Korea’s megaconglomerates have helped lift the country out of poverty, but their extraordinary influence could put the health of the Korean economy at risk.

A long-lasting security alliance with the Philippines remains at the heart of U.S. strategy in the Asia-Pacific, a region that includes the disputed South China Sea.