The Asia Chessboard

This week, Mike is joined by Ashley Tellis, Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs and senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, to re-evaluate U.S. China strategy and determine what makes a successful theory of victory. The two start by going back in time to when Ashley was working on the rise of China in the 90s, when he argued that China’s rise was not a fluke and would impact...

This week Mike is joined by Mireya Solis, director of the Center for East Asia Policy Studies, Philip Knight Chair in Japan Studies, and a senior fellow in the Foreign Policy program at Brookings, to discuss the regional trade architecture of the Asia-Pacific. The two start off by analyzing the geopolitical significance of RCEP and CPTPP, and what the lack of U.S. participation in both trade agree...

This week, Mike is joined by Asia and human rights expert Ellen Bork, contributing editor at American Purpose, to discuss the geopolitics of Tibet and what it means for the Asia Chessboard. The two begin by discussing Tibet’s strategic significance in the region, including the influence of Tibetan Buddhism and China’s strategic approach to its “core interests.” Bork also dives deeper into Tibet’s...

This week Mike is joined by Bruce Stokes, fellow at the German Marshall Fund, to discuss U.S. public attitudes about the world, and how the world sees the U.S. leadership role abroad, especially after January 6th. Stokes differentiates between public opinion about the United States, faith in the U.S. public, and faith in U.S ideas about democracy. How does waning U.S. soft power impact our strateg...

This week, Mike is joined by David Shambaugh, the Gaston Sigur Professor of Asian Studies at George Washington University, to discuss his new book, “Where Great Powers Meet: America and China in Southeast Asia.” The two start with a discussion about how U.S.-China relations have gotten to their lowest point since normalization, and how Southeast Asia has become an open field for competition. Perce...

This week, Mike is joined by Ganbat Chuluunkhuu, Managing Director at RVJ Capital, as they journey to the middle of the chessboard to discuss Mongolia’s role in the Asia-Pacific region. Ganbat dives into Mongolia’s history of strategic culture, starting with the legacy of Genghis Khan, and outlines the intricacies of Mongolia’s relationships with China, Russia, and “third neighbors” like the Unite...

This week, Mike is joined by Tom Wright, director of the Center on the United States and Europe and a senior fellow in the Project on International Order and Strategy at the Brookings Institution, to discuss how domestic politics impacts U.S. grand strategy. The two go into detail about how both Democrats and Republicans currently view U.S. strategy in Asia, and where both parties converge and div...

This week, Mike is joined by his CSIS colleagues Jude Blanchette, Bonnie Glaser, and Scott Kennedy, to discuss their recently-launched project, “Mapping the Future of U.S. China Policy.” For this project, CSIS surveyed the American public and thought leaders in the United States, Asia, and Europe to map perspectives on China policy. The discussion centers around the project’s five main takeaways o...

This week, Mike is joined by Chris Capozzola, Professor of History at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, to discuss his new book on the history of U.S.-Philippines relations, Bound by War. The two discuss the importance of history for informing grand strategy, and what lessons we can learn from the 1900s, which Dr. Capozzola argues is the "original" Asian century. Dr. Capozzola starts with...

This week, Mike is joined by the Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) to discuss the role of Congress in decision-making on U.S. national security policy in the Asia-Pacific. In their discussion, they look at strategic competition with China and the importance of working jointly with allies and partners, especially through exercising together. They also h...

This week, Mike is joined by two CSIS colleagues who are leading thinkers on Southeast Asia in Washington: Murray Hiebert, Senior Associate of the Southeast Asia Program, and Greg Poling, Senior Fellow of the Southeast Asia Program and Director of the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative. They focus their discussion on Murray's new book, Under Beijing's Shadow: Southeast Asia's China Challenge, w...

Russian and Chinese Interference is becoming an increasingly important part of the strategic chessboard in the Asia-Pacific. This week, Mike is joined by Amy Searight, Senior Associate for Asia at CSIS, and Heather Conley, Senior Vice President for Europe at CSIS, to discuss their new report on countering Russian and Chinese influence activities. Through looking at different case studies, Amy and...

In part two of Mike's discussion with Abe Denmark and Mira Rapp-Hooper, the three take a look at the importance of alliance coordination in the Indo-Pacific, the challenges U.S. alliances currently face, and how the U.S. alliance network factors into competition with China. What are the major issue areas that U.S. and allied officials are looking at today? What are the prospects for networking Ame...

Mike is joined by Abe Denmark, Director of the Asia Program at the Wilson Center, and Mira Rapp-Hooper, Senior Fellow for Asia Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, to discuss the past, present, and future of the U.S. alliance system in the Indo-Pacific. What are the major strategic decision points facing the U.S. and its allies in the Indo-Pacific? Is present friction within the alliance n...

Mike is joined in this episode by former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy and Force Development Elbridge Colby, with a special guest appearance by CSIS U.S. Alliances Project Director Patrick Buchan. Mike, Bridge, and Pat discuss the planning process for the National Defense Strategy and its impact on force posture in the Indo-Pacific. How are the interests of allies accounted fo...

The story of grand strategy on the Asia Chessboard is a story in part about access to energy, both for consumers and producers alike. With COVID-19 delivering a major shock to the system, how are Asian producers and consumers adapting their strategies to the new reality? Has the pandemic merely exacerbated old energy-related tensions, or should observers expect new disputes to emerge? How can cons...

In a special joint-episode, Mike is joined by Representative Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin, an up-and-coming voice on Asia strategy in Congress. The two discuss the role of Congress in policymaking towards the region and the domestic politics of China policy. Who are the players on the Hill? What are the issues? How do local concerns over agricultural exports and supply chains shape debates about de...

In the twentieth episode of The Asia Chessboard, Mike is joined by Georgetown Professor Diana Kim to discuss Diana's new book, Empires of Vice, a look at how colonial administrations came to ban drugs across Asian territories. How did this process affect the development of governing norms in Asia? What impacts did these models of prohibition have on contemporary illicit markets across Asia? Are no...

With the coronavirus pandemic sweeping through the Asia Chessboard economically and geopolitically, Mike is joined by Dr. Evan Medeiros of Georgetown University to discuss what the viral crisis portends for the U.S.-China relationship, America's allies in the Indo-Pacific, and the future role of Asia. Will China emerge from the crisis in a stronger position regionally and globally? How does the co...

With climate change creating new sea routes through the Arctic circle, China is making moves to assert navigation and scientific rights in the region. Mike is joined by CSIS Senior Vice President for Europe Heather Conley to discuss China’s role in this emerging region of the Asia Chessboard. Do Russian moves in the Arctic make it more of a factor on the Asia chessboard? How do Russian and Chinese...

Lynchpin of ASEAN and sitting astride some of the globe’s most important sea lines of communications, Indonesia is a critical part of the Asia Chessboard. Mike is joined by former Indonesian ambassador to the U.S. Dr. Dino Djalal to discuss Indonesia’s strategic culture and relationship with the U.S. How is Indonesia managing U.S.-China strategic competition? How does the next generation of Indone...

As strategic competition between the U.S. and China heats up, old Cold War-era questions on the importance of values are being asked anew: to what extent does ideology, democracy in particular, factor into U.S. foreign policy in Asia? Mike is joined by Ambassador Derek Mitchell of the National Democratic Institute and Dr. Dan Twining of the International Republican Institute to dive into the past,...

Mike sits down with Keio University professor Yuichi Hosoya to discuss one of the longest-tenured players on the Asia chessboard, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Mike and Yuichi kick off the episode by discussing Yuichi’s role as both an academic and an informal adviser to the Abe government on foreign policy. The two then turn to discussing how history and foreign policy are taught in Japanes...

In the first episode of 2020, Mike is joined by Tom Karako, Senior Fellow with the CSIS International Security Program and Director of the Missile Defense Project. Mike and Tom tackle the new hard power reality facing the Asia chessboard. What will the Indo-Pacific region look like now that the U.S. is no longer bound by the INF treaty? Mike and Tom also examine the doctrinal, strategic, and polit...

Mike is joined in this episode by Patrick Buchan, director of the U.S. Alliances Project and Fellow for Indo-Pacific security at CSIS. Buchan is also a former official with the Australian Department of Defense, Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, and the U.S. Office of the Secretary of Defense. After discussing Pat’s unique background as an Australian seconded to the U.S. government, Mike an...