Eastern Asia

IAEA to Check the Release of Fukushima Water into Ocean

The run-up to the discharging of chemically treated, but still radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is once again taking center stage in the eyes of many of Japan’s neighbors. The Japanese authorities opted to release Fukushima water last April to advance the decommissioning process that has lasted for more than […]

Olympic Hanbok Scandal, or Two Types of Nationalism

In his previous material about the tricky relations between China and South Korea this author already mentioned how a demonstration of the traditional Korean clothes was viewed in South Korea. However, this is worth telling in greater detail as this story illustrates the conceptual difference between the two countries’ national policies. So, South Koreans took offence […]

Diagnosis: Why the China Containment Policy is Failing

For the past 4 years – especially since the US ‘trade war’ on China started by the Trump administration in 2017 – Washington has been seeking ways to contain, roll-back on its gains and encircle China. The US ‘trade war’ was not something entirely new; in fact, it was a continuation of the Obama administration’s […]

Another meeting of Quad Foreign Ministers

On February 11, Melbourne hosted the fourth meeting of foreign ministers of the countries participating in the Quad, which consists of the United States, Japan, India and Australia. Since the creation of this alliance in 2019, Washington (together with Tokyo and Canberra) attempted, firstly, to expand the scope of activity beyond the framework of an […]

Blinken’s Asia-Pacific Tour: Fighting the War by Other Means

Soon after releasing the new anti-China Indo-Pacific strategy, the US secretary of state Antony Blinken embarked upon a significant tour to countries in Asia and the Pacific to reassure these countries of the US commitment – and ability – to protect and defend them against an ‘aggressive’ China. Even though US officials have been saying, […]

Two Sentences and One Charge

The closer to the end of Moon Jae-in’s rule, the bolder the judiciary confirms the verdicts and charges personnel from the president’s entourage, and these stories also pour water into the mill of conservatives. Completion of the Chung Kyung-sim Case 60-year-old Chung Kyung-sim is the wife of ex-Minister of Justice and Senior Secretary of the […]

Another Edition of the Chronicles of the Taiwan Issue

The previous chapter of this Chronicle discussed perhaps the most relevant question of all – how strong the position of the Democratic Progressive Party ruling since 2016 (its second consecutive term) and led by Tsai Ing-wen, the current president of Taiwan, is among the Taiwanese. The answer to this question will largely determine the answer […]

A Chronicle of the Pre-election Race in ROK: Yoon Suk-yeol’s Dirty Laundry

After describing the Conservatives’ internal party problems, it is time to talk about the scandals accompanying Yoon, because as the election nears, the author gets the impression that the 2022 election is unprecedented in terms of mudslinging by the candidates on each other. On the one hand, Yoon and his family have been spared a […]

The China-Russia Meeting on 4 February Sets Out A Clear Alternative for the World

On fourth of February 2022 an important meeting took place in Beijing., China between the leader of China Xi Jin Ping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Putin was in China at Xi’s invitation to attend the opening of the Winter Olympics. The reason for his visit however, went far beyond celebrating the opening of […]