The Conventional Wisdom is that the ascension of Japan's Shinzo Abe to the prime minister's post is bad news for Japan and, by extension, the United States. Abe is an ardent nationalist who, the thinking goes, will unleash the country's lurking militarism, thus isolating Japan and, indirectly, Washington from the rest of Asia.

China is working to undermine America’s bilateral alliances. And it is having some success with South Korea, as well as providing countries such as India with the opportunity to play Beijing and Washington off against each other or at least compete for their courtship.

Months overdue, the Pentagon's annual report to Congress on China's military power is a mix of happy talk, flabby strategic musings, and sobering facts. No doubt this analytic confusion explains the quite divergent news accounts of the report when it was released on July 19.

Prime Minister John Howard of Australia has made the strategic gamble that a tight alliance with the United States is better for his country’s national security than the narrow pursuit of self-reliance. As a result, Australia is an active participant in the global war on terror and has developed a stronger diplomatic position in Asia than it has enjoyed in years.

The problems Taiwan faces today are not unusual. Newly elected democrats often struggle to learn how to govern and opposition parties just as often struggle to learn how to criticize the government policies without undercutting the government.

This is the first issue of Asian Outlook, a new bimonthly publication that will identify and analyze specific topics that either concern American strategic interests in Asia today or will assume greater importance in the near future. Descargar PDF

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