China’s rising power and capabilities make PRC actions in the South China Sea more consequential and unsettling than those of others, so they deserve particular attention but need to be evaluated in the broader context of the motives and actions of others as well.

While China’s entry into Latin America continues to gain international attention, a push by Japan to increase its influence in the region is receiving far less coverage. As Eric Farnsworth explains, Japan has maintained long-term interests in the region that it is only now seeking to strengthen.

As the rivalry between the United States and China in the Asia-Pacific continues, Taiwan will play an ever-increasing role in the Obama administration’s rebalance or pivot to the region. Robert Sutter explains recent congressional interest in Taiwan and lays out three reasons why existing U.S. policies will continue.

On the chessboard of the South China Sea, spectators have turned into players and the game is expanding, writes Zhai Kun.

What does the release of Japan’s 2014 Defense White Paper say about the future of Sino-US-Japanese trilateral relations? Stephen Harner warns that Abe’s vision, as laid out in the White Paper, is not a path towards stability in the Asia-Pacific.

When the US strategy of rebalancing was initiated, the US said that it did not target China. However, the new US-Australia military agreement is intended to check China’s rise, writes Tao Wenzhao.

As tensions rise between the U.S. and China over China's islands dispute with Japan, American strategists have been thinking about how to accommodate China while at the same time standing behind their Japanese ally.

Can a market-based plan for energy infrastructure provide peace and prosperity in the South China Sea? Stewart Taggart, a former financial journalist, examines recent tensions and describes how creating Joint Development Areas could boost cooperation and mutual trust.

The international and domestic crises that have occurred this past summer have jeopardized President Obama’s Asia-Pacific rebalance. The Ukrainian Crisis, the “Arab Spring”, and the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip are only some of the catastrophes that have led to dissatisfaction with the President’s foreign policy and possible victory for Republicans in the upcoming midterm elections.

The United States’ engagement policy toward China is a strategic step toward containing Beijing’s growing financial power and economic influence. However, with tension increasing between China and the United States, Carpenter heeds Washington to look for more sustainable engagement plans before advancing on what American scholars have coined “congagement”, in fear of erupting a larger Sino-American crisis.