China’s “Blue Dragon” strategy seeks to upend Washington’s containment policy and breakout of strategic bottlenecks through leveraging national defence and development across four separate geographic frontiers. For Washington, addressing the China challenge must begin by rethinking policies no longer suitable to the challenge at hand. To compete strategically with the United States (US) and undermine… Continue reading China’s Secret “Blue Dragon” Strategy: Can US Containment Policy Succeed?
Even in a one-party, communist state, ordinary people can exert power It wasn’t the Communist Party that lifted the Vietnamese out of poverty; the people did it themselves. The country’s free-market revolution was the result of bottom-up pressure from the masses who broke the command-economy so much that the communist government had to accept a… Continue reading Vietnam’s communists are constrained domestically in choice between the US and China
Chinese actions in the South China Sea are often viewed as proof of an assertive China, despite the Chinese claims that their Confucian values make China a peaceful power. This paper analyzes the South China Sea conflict through a prism of strategic culture theory and examines both the Chinese narrative on the conflict as well… Continue reading China and the South China Sea Conflict: A Case for Confucian Strategic Culture?
CEIAS and IIR joint interview conducted by Alfred Gerstl (AG) and Rudolf Fürst (RF) with Bill Hayton, an Associate Fellow with the Asia-Pacific Programme at Chatham House. AG: The territorial and maritime disputes in the South China Sea involve five ASEAN members – Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam – as well as China and… Continue reading The South China Sea – “The Status Quo is not the Worst Situation”
“ASEAN will never completely side with China” In his interview with CEIAS, Alan Chong (S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Singapore) assesses the relations of ASEAN and Singapore with China. While the Belt and Road Initiative will foster a closer exchange, he argues that political differences and distorted views of the past in China are… Continue reading Alan Chong: ASEAN’s and Singapore’s delicate Balancing Act towards China
