Dr. Masayo GotoBerlin WallChina, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan
Before 9/11
After 9/11

China/Taiwan/Hong Kong
The opportunity to focus more on
economic growth, economic reform andopenness.
Tiananmen square protests (1989-1993)
Taiwan Strait Crisis (1995-1996)
Hong Kong Handover (1997)

The protests demanding for democratic reformbegan with a march by students in memory offormer party leader Hu Yaobang (a pro-market,pro-democracy, and anti-corruption official) inTiananmen square.
Tanks moved into the square from severaldirections, randomly firing on unarmed protesters.
Several hundred civilians have been shot dead by
the Chinese army during a bloody military
operation to crush a democratic protest.

The Third Taiwan Strait
Crisis (the 1996 TaiwanStrait Crisis) was theeffect of a series of missile
tests conducted by China
in the waters surrounding
Taiwan including theTaiwan Strait from July 21,
1995 to March 23, 1996.

Britain has controlled Hong Kong island since 1842 - apart from abrief period during World War II when the Japanese took over.
The sovereignty of Hong Kong was transferred from the United
Kingdom to the People's Republic of China, on 1 July 1997. The
event marked the end of British rule, and the transfer ofsovereignty of Hong Kong back to Chinese rule.

The end of the Cold War changed Japan’s international
environment and contributed to a partial transformation ofJapanese politics, but did not lead to a transformation ofJapan’s position in the world.
1. Japan remained constrained from pursuing a truly
independent role by the long standing inhibitions
arising from its past history and by the pacifist
constitution.
2. The security alliance with the US remained thecornerstone of Japan’s foreign and security policies.
3. In the 1990s, Japan began to take active diplomaticroles: Japan contributed to the UN’s peacekeeping
operation (PKO) in Cambodia after the end of theCambodian conflict. This was an unprecedented
contribution, but Japan’s Self Defence Force was not
involved in armed conflict.

The Korean peninsula remains one of the last
vestiges of the Cold War. It is essentially up to the70 million Korean people in the South and theNorth to wash away the undesirable legacies of theold regimes to institute a solid structure of peaceand stability on their land and to lay thefoundation for unification.

Globalisation of informal violence by non-state networks
motivated by issues outside the traditional spheres of statecentric international political behaviour – Keohane, 2002
Re-configuration of domestic laws to tighten legal andsecurity apparatus to better protect themselves fromTerrorist attack.

Shift in US foreign policy
Bush Doctrine (State of the Union Address January 2002)
Pre-emptive strike
Tough line on ‘Axis of Evil’ countries (Iraq, Iran and North Korea)
US to play a dominant long-term role in ‘War on Terrorism’

In North Asia North Korea was further isolated by the Bush
Doctrine and belligerent approach to conflict resolution.

Closest ally for US in the North Asia region. Koizumi and Bushhave established a close relationship. The armed forces and secretservices are closely co-ordinated.
The fight against terrorism and defence policies:• Diplomatic efforts against terrorism and international
cooperation to combat terrorism via the freezing of assets.
•Japan passed an Anti-Terrorism Special Measures Law in October
2001, which provided for the dispatch of the Self Defence Force tothe Indian Ocean of ships and aircraft.
•Japan is a major donor and hosts conferences designed to assist in
the reconstruction of Afghanistan and Iraq.
•Revised domestic laws to improve level of co-ordination in theevent of a terrorist attack. Central command is located in the officeof Prime Minister.

1.
2.
3.
4.

5.

North Korea remains a principle problem forJapan.
Japan has attempted to normalise relations withNorth Korea since the earlier 1990s.
100 NoDong missiles are pointed at Japan. As well
as US bases, there are 25 nuclear power plants.
North Korean agents abducted Japanese citizens
in the late 1970s and early 1980s and this haveaffected normalization talks.
The Japanese government has adopted a strong
policy of no negotiations until the 5 remaining
abductees are returned. However, the North
Korean government claimed that the abduction
issue has been closed.

Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi

The ‘War on Terror’ has offered new opportunities foreasing tensions between Beijing and Washington
based on shared concerns in central Asia. In broadterms China supports the US led initiative as it also
suits the Chinese objective of crushing a separatist
movement.
China fears a spill over of Central Asian and Middle
East terrorism in Xinjiang province. The US hasclassified a Uygur separatist group as terrorists.
Led to restoration of senior level defence and security
exchanges (including intelligence sharing on Islamicgroups in Central Asia)

The July 2009 Uygur riots
The violence was part of ongoing ethnic tensions
between the Han (the largest ethnic group in
China) and the Uyghurs (minority ethnic group in
China, predominantly Muslim).
The specific riots were sparked by Uyghurdissatisfaction with the Chinese central
government's handling of the deaths of two
Uyghur workers, as part of an ethnic brawl .

Taiwan: Independence from China?
In 2009, as Taiwan prepared for its next presidential
election tension over the independence issue flaredagain. This time, three candidates were running: ChenShui-bian (the Democratic Progressive Party) James
Soong Chu-yu (independent) and Lien Chan
(Nationalist Vice President). Chen’s party was callingfor independence.
Chen won the election but has softened his party's callfor a sovereign "Republic of Taiwan" .
He said he will not declare independence unlessTaiwan comes under military attack by China.

Serious Problems in Sino-US relations still remain.
Chinese leadership was very critical of US policy tolaunch a military attack on Iraq in March 2003. The
principal concern was that North Korea would be next
after a quick victory in Baghdad. China is already home
to over 100, 000 North Korean refugees.
The US has repeatedly assured the Taiwan leader Chen
that they will not cut a deal with China at the expenseof Taiwan. The US continues to sell arms to Taipei andhave re-affirmed the US-Taiwan security agreement.

Chronology of North Korea's missile program Aug. 31, 1998: North Korea fires suspected missile (Taepodong-1missile) over Japan and into the Pacific Ocean, calling it a satellite.
 Sept. 13, 1999: North Korea pledges to freeze long-range missile tests.
 March 10, 2003: North Korea fires a land-to-ship missile off east coast
into waters between the Korean peninsula and Japan.
 October 2003: North Korea fires two land-to-ship missiles.
 May 2005: North Korea fires a short-range missile into waters between
the Korean peninsula and Japan.
 July 5, 2006: North Korea launches seven missiles into waters between
the Korean peninsula and Japan, including a long-range Taepodong-2.
 July 15, 2006: U.N. Security Council adopts Resolution 1695 demanding
North Korea halt missile program.
 Oct. 9, 2006: North Korea conducts underground nuclear test blast
after citing "extreme threat of a nuclear war" from U.S.
 Oct. 15, 2006: U.N. Security Council adopts Resolution 1718 condemningtest, imposing sanctions and banning North Korea from activities
related to its nuclear weapons program, including "their means ofdelivery." July 14, 2007: North Korea shuts down its main Yongbyon reactor, later

starts disabling it.
 Sept. 19, 2008: North Korea says it is restoring a key atomic reactor.
 Oct. 11, 2008: U.S. removes North Korea from a list of states that sponsor
terrorism.
 April 5, 2009: North Korea launches long-range rocket (a Taepodong-2
missile that has a range of 4,000 to 6,500 kilometers).
 April 13: The U.N. Security Council adopts a presidential statement
condemning North Korea's rocket launch.
 April 14: North Korea quits six-party nuclear talks and vows to restart its
nuclear facilities in protest against the U.N. statement.
 May 25: North Korea conducts its second nuclear test.
 June 12: The U.N. Security Council adopts Resolution 1874 sanctioning
North Korea for its nuclear test.
 July 2: North Korea test-fires four short-range missiles.
 July 4: North Korea fires several missiles, believed to be banned ballisticmissiles
Sources: South Korean defense and foreign ministries and presidential office, AP19

Why???

 Is the DPRK trying to undermine the six-party talks

in order to force the US to deal with DPRK directly?
 Is the DPRK trying to send a signal for theacceptance of North Korea as nuclear- weapons
state like India?
 Kim Jong Il is visibly ailing. Does he want to clear
the way through his own military for his youngest
son to succeed or to bolster his own reputation
before his death?
No one really knows North Korean motives

21

1. Although the framework in North Asia has notbeen altered by the post-cold war environment,
the region has not remained static and has
responded to the substantial shifts in global
politics.
2. The Cold War still remains in North Asia.