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The bilateral relations between Indonesia and Vietnam have long been problematic due to the unresolved maritime borders surrounding the North Natuna Sea. Despite having a long history of cooperation in multilateral forums such as ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), the increasing occurrence of IUUF (illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing) in the North Natuna Sea continues to raise concerns in Jakarta about vessels of different countries, including Vietnamese-flagged vessels. Taking an example, this study evaluates the maritime diplomatic strategies of the President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) administration against the encroachment of Vietnam fishing boats which entered Indonesian waters in the North Natuna Sea between 2020-2021 with reference to the response of 1) Indonesia's navy; (2) the Indonesian Maritime Security Agency, and (3) Indonesian Police or Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries. Although there have been hundreds of incidents, five analytical cases were evaluated in this paper based upon their maritime diplomatic properties to understand Indonesia's contemporary strategy toward such encroachments. Using Le Mière's five framework points, the study argues that Indonesia's maritime diplomatic strategies against Vietnam's IUUF exhibited 1) a kinetic effect; 2) consistency; 3) message explicitness; 4) reactive diplomacy; and 5) lack of power balance among stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines U.S. policy toward Taiwan and explores several proposals for change that an American administration may wish to consider. The author suggests that, while the United States should not overhaul its current relationship with Taiwan, some modest adjustments in policy may be warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

It is important to identify the real intention of North Korea's nuclear program in order to predict the nation's future nuclear posture and more effectively engage in nuclear talks and negotiations with its government. Nuclear proliferation cases have mainly been explained using three theoretical frameworks: the security model, the domestic politics model, and the symbol/norms model. However, these models have serious shortcomings in explaining the root cause of North Korea's nuclear program. This article examines North Korea's political and economic situation during the critical periods of the first and second North Korean nuclear crises and argues that the nation's nuclear program can be explained using the regime survival model. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Indian elites spent much of Barack Obama's first year trying to discern whether he would continue the “strategic partnership” cultivated between New Delhi and Washington over the previous decade. In the absence of early affirmation and concerned that the United States was developing a pro-Pakistan outlook on regional security issues (particularly Kashmir), India focused intensely on the new president's evolving “Af-Pak” policy as a proxy for the state of U.S.-India relations. This impulse made for continued uncertainty, given the unsettled U.S. regional strategy. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's official visit to Washington in November 2009 put a new seal on U.S.-India friendship, and New Delhi's worst fears about U.S. intentions have been laid to rest. The strategic partnership remains intact, albeit amid less euphoria than during the Bush administration. It likely will continue to mature owing to broadly convergent strategic interests, but U.S. and Indian interests are least convergent with respect to Pakistan's involvement in Afghan affairs, and this will continue to be a source of tension in U.S.-India relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mediating regional conflict in Asia is a delicate art. It requires an acute understanding of the unique mediation culture in the region. China's mediation in the nuclear crisis on the Korean Peninsula reveals key elements of this art and offers useful lessons. China's experience illustrates that an influential but neutral and harmony-oriented mediator is critical in the Asian context. It is equally essential for the mediator to (1) abide by the principle of noninterference in other countries' internal affairs while maintaining active intervention as dispute escalates, (2) stand ready to nudge those being mediated toward action when necessary to advance peaceful negotiations, (3) establish an optimal environment to foster communication and reduce hostility between the major parties in dispute, (4) serve as an honest broker but remain firm in its own position and cautiously take initiatives to guide the talks, (5) advocate a step-by-step approach to the negotiation process, and (6) aim for the outcome of negotiations to be a give-and-take agreement. Although Asia is a conflict-prone region, Asians traditionally confuse mediation with meddling. As a result, non-Asians often try to serve as mediators for Asia. For more effective mediations, it is essential that Asians rediscover their useful mediation skills and that non-Asians better understand the Asian art of mediation when they act as mediator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]