Against the shadow of impeachment hearings, the DC think tank community waited on three big developments in the Indo-Pacific region. The Sino-US trade talks riveted the international community with an outcome originally expected in November before the APEC summit was cancelled but still looming. The South Korea-Japan breakdown faced a November 22 deadline when Seoul could end participation in GSOMIA, crossing a red line for the US officials intending to boost a trilateral alliance framework in Northeast Asia. Finally, the North Korean end-of-year deadline loomed for an ominous policy shift that could plunge the region back into a dangerous impasse. As those situations remained unsettled, Chinese made the case that they only sought normalization in Sino-US relations, South Koreans appealed for a joint path forward with North Korea, and Japanese explained why they had to stand firm against the South’s challenge to the 1965 normalization agreement. As usual, Washington served as a sounding board for views from various parties.

Read full article at www.theasanforum.org.