East Asian Politics

A more substantial version of this piece has since been published in the Columbia Journal of Asian Law, Vol. 14 No. 1 (Spring 2000), and has thus been removed from this site at the wishes of the author.

This week in the Philippines, leaders of the nations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) crossed the threshold of discussing a possible economic and monetary union.

The historic agreement brokered on November 15 between the United States and China will mark the last step toward the end of the insularity of the Middle Kingdom.

Because of the American understanding of foreign policy based on the Cold War notion of us and them, and because of the numerous sticky points in China's relations with its neighbors and the world, dealing with China will cause a disproportionate amount of headache for the next president.

Akio Morita died October 3, leaving a company with annual sales of over $56 billion from its electronics business alone, not counting its other media ventures.

After a great deal of reluctance, the Indonesian government has allowed the United Nations to deploy a peacekeeping force in East Timor. They will be quite lucky if they find any peace to keep.

After twenty three years of living under the boot of the Indonesian military, East Timor overwhelmingly voted for freedom, at which point it began living under the boot of the Indonesian paramilitary.

The Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare has launched its own war on smoking. But the majority stockholder in Japan's largest tobacco company is the Japanese government itself.

China throws its weight around, even in outposts far removed from Washington D.C.

Taiwan's recent questioning of the One China policy has thrust the region into controversy.