Posts From Alin Barbantan
Potential end of a Philippines-US Security Treaty
The US-Philippine alliance is on the rocks, which has major implications for the Asia-Pacific: it marks a notable decrease in US influence in the region, creating a power void that will be filled by China, and further fragmenting a region that is already facing a growing arms race.
Australia-Japan alliance: A blueprint for something bigger?
Is the strengthening of bonds between Japan and Australia merely an attempt to balance China, or is it a sign of a more promising future?
A change in the East Asian balance of power? The implications of the Trump-Kim Summit
Ever since the end of the Korean War in 1953, the United States and South Korea have formed a liberal democratic alliance, in opposition to the communist North Korea. Although the two allies have encountered ups and downs throughout the decades, recent developments gave hope that a fundamental change to the nature of America’s engagements in the Korean peninsula might occur. However, President Trump’s last two summits with Kim Jong-un have made little progress, and questions concerning how to successfully engage North Korea persist.
Japan: military expansion and instability in East Asia
With an incursive China, relaxing American input and an ambiguous Trump-Kim relationship, Japan bolsters its military capabilities to face uncertain times.