Global Asia

When leaders from Beijing, Tokyo and Seoul sat down in the South Korean capital in late May for their ninth trilateral summit in 25 years, it was the first time in almost five years that they had convened in this format. The lockdowns after Covid-19 accounted for much of that hiatus, but so too did some thorny security issues that linger among the three countries, especially in the context of simmering tensions between China and the United States.

Still, the Seoul summit pointed to a wide swath of areas where greater co-operation in Northeast Asia is possible. From climate change, trade, public health, aging populations, digital transformation, disaster relief, educational and people- to-people exchanges, there are plenty of ways that China, Japan and South Korea can co-operate and forge closer relations. The leaders of the three countries underscored that optimism. Even the prospect of a long-awaited free trade agreement among these economic powerhouses was not off the table. 

Traditionally, aspirations for greater integration in Asia have expressed themselves in the broader framework of ASEAN Plus Three, which groups China, Japan and South Korea alongside the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. But efforts by the trilateral summit framework to seek greater integration face especially acute security challenges related to the US alliances with Japan and South Korea, countries with significant economic ties to China. North Korea also looms large for South Korea, Japan and China in their trilateral relations. In this cover package of Global Asia, we examine the opportunities and obstacles facing greater integration in Northeast Asia and what role the trilateral summit framework can play. 

In our Features section, we explore the balancing act China must play as it strengthens its ties to Russia at a time when Moscow is drawing closer to Pyongyang, while Seoul and Tokyo are aligning more closely with the US; we also look at the threat that corruption continues to pose to growth and reform in Indonesia as a new president takes office; why hardliners in both Beijing and Washington are deluding themselves about what a war over Taiwan would achieve; the prospects for a reset in the troubled relations between China and the US; why those who believe Myanmar’s government will succumb to an armed insurgency are wrong; how China and India are locked in a contest for influence over the Global South; and the state of human development and freedom in the Asia-Pacific.

As always, our Book Review section highlights notable books about Asia, including both long and short reviews. 

Sincerely yours,

Chung-in Moon 

Editor-in-Chief 

David Plott 

Managing Editor