The Road to the First Japan-Philippines-US Trilateral Summit (original) (raw)

The Trilateral Summit: Rapprochement in Northeast Asia can Stabilise the Region

China, Japan, and South Korea convened a trilateral summit in Tokyo on 9 May after a three year hiatus due to flaring bilateral diplomatic friction. Whether by design or serendipity, the timing was auspicious. North Korea’s overtures to the international community towards peace and reconciliation have warmed otherwise frosty relations between the Northeast Asian powers, pulling their often conflicting foreign policy priorities together towards the common goal of peace in the North Pacific. At the same time, mixed signals from the Trump Administration have undermined the United States’ reliability as an alliance and trade partner, which has pushed Asian diplomatic efforts toward a shared centre. Together, North Korea’s pull and the United States’ push has brought the leaders of China, Japan and South Korea to the table as they seek to harmonise foreign policies in a bid to secure regional stability.

The rhetoric and reality of the Trilateral and Bilateral Summits: Cautious Optimism

The functionalist approach to cooperation explicitly voiced at the recent trilateral and bilateral summits strongly suggests that China, South Korea and Japan remain far apart on core issues that continue to divide them. Moreover, shifts in dynamics between Japan-South Korea, South Korea- China and China-South Korea indicate that an incremental rapprochement between Japan and South Korea is taking place while China-Japan rapprochement continues to struggle to find traction.

The Second Belt and Road Summit

BESA Center Perspectives Paper, 2019

On April 25-27, 2019, Chinese President Xi Jinping convened a second summit of leaders and representatives from around the world to discuss his signature program, the Belt and Road Initiative. Xi’s keynote address revealed his take on Beijing’s trade struggle with the US as well as his approach to the concerns of poorer countries that lie along the initiative’s route.

Singapore summit

Singapore Summit 2018 is a peace treaty signed between US and North Korea.

The Lima Summit: A Trial by Fire for the Pacific Alliance

GIGA Focus Latin America, 2019

On 5 and 6 July 2019, the four member states of the Pacific Alliance (PA) will meet in Lima, Peru, for the XIV Presidential Summit. With the rapidly changing both Latin American and international context, the meeting might well be the most important one since the group’s creation in 2011. The convergence with the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR), the accession of associate members, and enhanced cooperation with observer states are among the main topics on the agenda. In this short piece, we analyze the challenges and perspectives of the summit in the current regional context.