Podcast host Alex Gabuev; Darshana Baruah, an associate fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; and Michito Tsuruoka, an associate professor at Keio University in Tokyo, examine relations in and around the Indo-Pacific.
James Schoff, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Asia Program, explains the U.S. position on the close relationship between Russian President Vladimir Putin and former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, and how Washington views economic cooperation between the two neighbors.
Ahead of the first virtual summit of the Quad countries (the United States, Japan, Australia, and India), Ashley J. Tellis, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, looked at the relationship between Russia and India, the role of the Quad, and why Delhi is keen to include Moscow in Indo-Pacific affairs.
We are unlikely to see a political or economic breakthrough in Russo-Japanese relations. Japan won’t be trying to repeat Abe’s efforts to that end in the foreseeable future. Nevertheless, bilateral relations could well grow naturally under minimally favorable conditions.
As the destabilization of the Indo-Pacific region continues and disagreements between key players escalate, the Russo-Japanese security dialogue may acquire growing significance.
The Yoshihide Suga administration should continue its policy of engagement with Russia, while keeping the conclusion of a peace treaty and resolution of the territorial issue as a future task.
Since the relationship between Japan and China will inevitably remain competitive and confrontational in the long term, the strategic importance of progress in Japan’s relationship with Russia will grow.
Podcast host Alex Gabuev is joined by Janka Oertel, director of the Asia program at the European Council on Foreign Relations, to discuss changing attitudes in Europe toward China and Russia, and the evolving relationship between Moscow and Beijing.
