By George Friedman March 15 2011 Over the past week, everything seemed to converge on energy. The unrest in the Persian Gulf raised the specter of the disruption of oil supplies to the rest of the world, and an earthquake in Japan knocked out a string of nuclear reactors with potentially devastating effect. Japan depends […]
Understanding the China-Japan Island Conflict
By Rodger Baker Vice President of East Asia Analysis Sep 25, 2012 Sept. 29 will mark 40 years of normalized diplomatic relations between China and Japan, two countries that spent much of the 20th century in mutual enmity if not at outright war. The anniversary comes at a low point in Sino-Japanese relations amid a […]
China Tests Japanese and U.S. Patience
By Rodger Baker Vice President of East Asia Analysis Feb 26, 2013 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has warned Beijing that Tokyo is losing patience with China’s assertive maritime behavior in the East and South China seas, suggesting China consider the economic and military consequences of its actions. His warning followed similar statements from Washington […]
Ferocious, Weak and Crazy: The North Korean Strategy
By George Friedman Founder and Chairman Apr 9, 2013 Editor’s Note: George Friedman originally wrote this Geopolitical Weekly on North Korea’s nuclear strategy on Jan. 29. More than two months later, the geopolitical contours of the still-evolving crisis have become more clear, so we believe it important to once again share with readers the fundamentals […]
China and North Korea: A Tangled Partnership
By Rodger Baker Vice President of East Asia Analysis Apr 16, 2013 China appears to be growing frustrated with North Korea’s behavior, perhaps to the point of changing its long-standing support for Pyongyang. As North Korea’s largest economic sponsor, Beijing has provided the North Korean regime with crucial aid for years and offered it diplomatic […]