East Asia Compass by Dr Sandip Kumar Mishra
  • South Korea’s Nuclear Turn: Propellers and Prospects
    Dr Sandip Kumar Mishra   ·    10 Feb, 2023   ·    5842
    South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said on 11 January 2023 that if North Korea’s nuclear threats became out of control, his country could acquire its own nuclear weapons. He even said that given South Korea’s technological ability ...
  • Global Upheaval as Opportunity: North Korea Rebuilding Ties with Russia and China
    Dr Sandip Kumar Mishra   ·    30 Sep, 2022   ·    5832
    The Ukraine crisis, US-China contestation, and COVID-19 pandemic have been challenging for most countries across the globe as it has led to energy and other supply-related issues, and its prolongation is seen as problematic by one and al ...
  • Shinzo Abe: Architect of a New Japan and the Indo-Pacific
    Dr Sandip Kumar Mishra   ·    19 Jul, 2022   ·    5824
    As a leader, Shinzo Abe elicited extreme emotions in Japan and across the world. During his lifetime, there were people who loved him for being Japan’s saviour and a bulwark against China’s assertiveness. There were others who despise ...
  • South Korea’s Policy towards North Korea: Another ‘Grand Bargain’?
    Dr Sandip Kumar Mishra   ·    29 Jun, 2022   ·    5820
    After Yoon Suk-yeol’s election as the new president of South Korea, the country’s policy towards North Korea was expected to change substantially. Unlike the Moon Jae-in administration, the new South Korean government will be strict ...
  • COVID-19 in North Korea: A State-fuelled Tragedy
    Dr Sandip Kumar Mishra   ·    17 May, 2022   ·    5817
    On 13 and 14 May 2022, North Korea reported 1,74,400 and 2,60,000 new COVID-19 cases and 21 and 15 deaths, respectively. It is thus hard to believe that the country was officially free from the pandemic until 11 May the same year. On 12 ...
  • Testing the Strength of India-Japan Relations
    Dr Sandip Kumar Mishra   ·    26 Apr, 2022   ·    5814
    Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited India in March this year. In a joint press conference with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Kishida raised the issue of Russia’s “aggression” with Ukraine. The difference between t ...
  • A New South Korean President: What Challenges Await Yoon Suk-yeol?
    Dr Sandip Kumar Mishra   ·    30 Mar, 2022   ·    5810
    In an exceptionally close South Korean presidential election, Yoon Suk-yeol of the opposition People Power Party (PPP) defeated Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party (DP) by “0.8 percent points.”In his post-election speech, President ...
  • Does the Biden Administration have ‘Strategic Clarity’ on Taiwan?
    Dr Sandip Kumar Mishra   ·    23 Feb, 2022   ·    5809
    In the first week of February, the US and Japan held a joint naval exercise—Noble Fusion 2022—in which around 15,000 US and 1,000 Japan Self-Defence Forces (SDF) personnel participated. The exercise extended through the Luzon Strait ...
  • Between the US and China: Japan’s Layered Balancing Act Under Kishida
    Dr Sandip Kumar Mishra   ·    30 Dec, 2021   ·    5803
    On 24 December 2021, after procrastinating for more than a month, Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary, Hirokazu Matsuno finally announced his country’s decision to not send a government delegation to the Beijing Winter Olympics in Febru ...
  • Three Observations on a Declaration to End the Korean War
    Dr Sandip Kumar Mishra   ·    29 Nov, 2021   ·    5796
    South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s efforts towards an end-of-war declaration on the Korean War appears to be moving ahead despite apprehensions. Moon has appealed for such a declaration several times during his tenure, with the most ...
Other Articles by Dr Sandip Kumar Mishra