Policy Forum

Leon V. Sigal, director of the Northeast Cooperative Security Project at the Social Science Research Council in New York, writes, “whatever leverage Washington may have, leverage without negotiations makes no sense. It is time for President Bush to make a strategic decision freeing Chris Hill to meet with the North Koreans and arming him with real leverage that comes from making conditional promises and keeping them, not spouting airy threats.”

Nigel Cowie, General Manager of Daedong Credit Bank, writes, “the result of these actions against banks doing business with the DPRK being that criminal activities go underground and harder to trace, and legitimate businesses either give up, or end up appearing suspicious by being forced to use clandestine methods.”

Stephen E. Noerper, head of the Institute of International Education’s Scholar Relief Fund, dedicated to saving individuals and ideas, writes, “today, Mongolia faces enormous problems from rising oil prices to declining health care. As the people of Mongolia struggle to grow their democracy through challenges and crises, the U.S. and other nations need to enhance support to guarantee that Mongolian democracy continues to serve as a harbinger for Central and East Asia.”

I. Introduction Chua Hearn Yuit, Researcher at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs (SIIA) and Yeo Lay Hwee, Director and Senior Research Fellow at the Institute, write, “The turn of the tide appears to have arrived for renewed confidence in developing nuclear energy as an alternative power source in the region since the global spectre […]

Wonhyuk Lim, CNAPS Visiting Fellow at the Brookings Institution, Fellow at the Korea Development Institute, and Korea National Strategy Institute writes, “The alternative is to deal with South Korea on more equal terms and engage it as a partner in building a new order in the region, facilitating China’s gradual transition and resolving the North Korean nuclear crisis to end the Cold War in Northeast Asia.”

Lim Tai Wei, researcher at the Singapore Institute for International Affairs (SIIA), published this report through the South-East Asia Peace and Security Network (SEAPSNet). Lim Tai Wei writes, “Even if it cannot be a main route of oil supply for China, the Mekong can certainly be an emergency route for Beijing’s strategic needs. This seems to be the message in China’s official news agency Xinhua as its headline article ran the word “explores” in covering this story.”

Selig S. Harrision, who has visited North Korea nine times, most recently in April, and is the author of “Korean Endgame”, writes “during his remaining two years in office, President Roh could seek to make the alliance more compatible with his North Korea policies in three ways. First, he could pursue mutual North-South force reductions in bilateral discussions with Pyongyang, resisting pressures from the Pentagon and his own military-industrial complex. Second, he could press for the more ‘open and equal’ alliance discussed by Ruediger Frank in the January Korea Policy Review. Finally, he could step up efforts to promote a trilateral peace treaty ending the Korean War.”

Discussion of “China Goes West” Policy Forum Online 06-24A: April 5th, 2006 “Discussion of ‘China Goes West’”   by Glyn Ford (MEP) Copyright (c) 2006 Nautilus of America/The Nautilus Institute CONTENTS I. Introduction II. Comments on Essay by Glyn Ford (MEP) Comments by Kay Möller Response by Glyn Ford (MEP) III. Nautilus invites your responses […]

Richard Tanter, Acting Director of Nautilus Institute at RMIT, and coordinator of the Austral Peace and Security Project https://nautilus.org/~rmit/index.html, writes “The Indian Ocean MSDF deployments, which, like the ASDF deployment, are set to continue after the withdrawal of ground troops from Iraq, represent a crucial advance in the process of Heisei militarization.”

Glyn Ford, member of the European Parliament representing South West England, writes “European intervention to pressure Taiwan to maintain the cross strait status quo has been solicited by China. We should intervene to since instability in China helps no-one.”

Read the discussion.