The Quad Is for Real, Thanks to Abe

Quad Ministers panel at the Taj Palace Hotel in New Delhi, India, March 3, 2023. Photo credit: via REUTERS

“Japan is not now and will never be a tier-two power,” declared Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in a speech to the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington in February 2013. He was there to champion the idea of a Quadrilateral Security Dialogue between Japan, the United States, India, and Australia. He succeeded in […]

The ASEAN Model: A Vision of Middle East Integration Beyond the Abraham Accords

Asean Summit in Bangkok (top) and The Negev Summit in Sde Boker (bottom). Photos credit: Koki Kataoka / The Yomiuri Shimbun, REUTERS

The summit of foreign ministers came together on relatively short notice. It was unstructured, informal, with little of the staff work or pre-negotiation that normally precedes such gatherings. The agenda was slim and general, and the outcome rather modest. But viewed through a historical scope, the results were transformational. I am not referring to the […]

In Southeast Asia, the United States Needs to Up its Economic Game

US President Joe Biden poses with India Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida as he announced the countries that are joining the new Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. Photo credit: EYEPRESS via Reuters Connect

One often hears that China is “winning” the competition with the United States in Southeast Asia. This strategically important region is home to 650 million people, and collectively is the world’s fifth largest economy and the US’s fourth largest export market. While serious competition is indeed a reality, it is not particularly useful to think […]