Eastern Asia

 
The US continues to deny any involvement in ongoing unrest in China’s special administrative region of Hong Kong.
However, even a casual look at US headlines or comments made by US politicians makes it clear the unrest not only suits US interests, but is spurred on almost exclusively by them.

A short while ago, we discussed the question whether the South Korean government was pushing its citizens to boycott Japanese goods or travel to Japan or whether this was an ordinary initiative of the citizens. The picture becomes much clearer if we pay attention to the way various officials are using people’s fears of radioactive contamination by promoting the topic of the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, which was damaged by the 2011 earthquake.

Continuing to monitor the confrontation between Washington and Tehran, the author of this article can see how it affects the South Korean interests. The sanctions badly hit the country’s economy and, since the summer of 2019, there have been attempts to involve Seoul in a possible military coalition.

The New Eastern Outlook has repeatedly noted the sharp increase in the role of Taiwan in the complex relations between the two leading world superpowers. Against the backdrop of a continuous deterioration in these relations, Washington’s desire to restore the format of its pre-1979 ties with Taipei is becoming increasingly clear.

We are continuing to keep a close eye on the trade war between Japan and South Korea to provide you with coverage of the latest chapter of events as they unfold.

From 20-22 August, Beijing hosted a remarkable event: a meeting between Wang Yi, the Chinese Foreign Minister and his Japanese and South Korean counterparts, Taro Kono and Kang Kyung-wha. The meeting included both bilateral and trilateral talks.

From 20-22 August, Beijing hosted a remarkable event: a meeting between Wang Yi, the Chinese Foreign Minister and his Japanese and South Korean counterparts, Taro Kono and Kang Kyung-wha. The meeting included both bilateral and trilateral talks.

On August 9, 2019 South Korean President Moon Jae-in conducted a major reshuffle, including the replacement of eight cabinet ministers and the appointment of a new ambassador to the USA.

The scheduled election (held every three years) for half of all the upper house seats of the National Diet of Japan, which took place on 21 July 2019, ought to be viewed as a key event in the realm of regional and global politics. After all, this was the latest exercise to elect members of a legislative body of a nation that has the world’s third largest economy, and whose influence on political processes on the global stage continues to grow.

Despite the détente on the Korean peninsula, neither party has yet undertaken the obligation to freeze military construction. In this regard, it is worth noting how the North Korean nuclear missile programme developed during this time.