In Japan’s ancient cultural city of Nara, a rather surreal event unfolded in mid-January. A stage usually reserved for rather mundane diplomatic events, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi invited South Korean President Lee Jae-myung to play drums with her. As the two Asian leaders hammered out a lively cover of “Golden” from K-Pop Demon Hunters, […]
Tag: Asia-Pacific
Playing Politics in America’s Pacific Territories
During the 2021 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) declared that America’s tax dollars should no longer be sent to “China, Russia, the Middle East, Guam – whatever, wherever.” However Guam, unlike the other places mentioned in her list, is fully American. For better or for worse, Guam’s American identity is […]
Can the United States Defend Its Allies in East Asia?
Lately, tensions between the United States and China have been heating up. With a raging trade war, increasingly-scrutinized Chinese investments, Chinese companies banned from the United States and even talk of conflict, it is no wonder that many are starting to wonder if a new Cold War has begun. Nowhere in the world has this […]
Taiwan’s President Must Prove She Can Lead
On May 20th this year, I landed in Taiwan’s Taoyuan Airport, full of excitement because I was finally able to live through a historic moment. It was Tsai Ing-wen’s inauguration day. Taiwan’s first female president, Tsai of the Democratic Progressive Party, came across as a capable, pragmatic politician, famously known for her pro-independence stance about […]