Jeju Peace Institute

JANG JunYoung (Senior Research Fellow, Center for Southeast Asian Studies in HUFS)Prior to President Xi Jinping’s state visit to South Korea this year, China held a meeting in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence (in 1954), inviting Indian Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari and Myanmar President Thein Sein to attend. The tripartite meeting was the first top-tier summit to be held over a joint agenda since Mr. Xi Jinping’s inauguration as China’s president. The leaders of the three countries reached an agreement to the effect that they would jointly cope with supranational crime and terrorism, including narcotic/human trafficking, according to the five principles. However, what was really on the minds of the three leaders appeared to differ markedly.Following the launch of the new government in Myanmar in 2011, Chinese leaders expected that they would be able to maintain or improve diplomatic relations with Myanmar. However, Myanmar’s new government attempted to shed its image as a vassal state of China by prioritizing political freedom over the economy and reflecting anti-Chinese sentiment in its realpolitik. Moreover, it succeeded in mitigating the sanctions that Western countries had imposed upon the country due to the previous military dictatorship, by striving to improve diplomatic relations with them. It also obtained the international community’s recognition of its status as a legitimate government.Having failed to cope with changes in Myanmar’s political situation, China saw the need to improve its relationship with the country in the post-2011 period. In 2014, China is trying to adopt a moderate policy toward Myanmar by presenting itself as a country that will offer opportunities to Myanmar and by dispelling fears that China poses a threat to Southeast Asia regarding the status of Myanmar as the chair of ASEAN in 2014.As for India, which has succeeded in bringing about an internal power transfer in 2014, it sees the need to expand its influence eastward, using Myanmar as a bridge. In the event of its establishment of friendly relations with Myanmar, India will be able to complete the economic corridor linking Southwest Asia with Southeast Asia, and eventually join the ranks of powers with the potential to persuade China to exercise restraint.

YOON Tae-Ryoung (Assistant Professor, Konkuk University)Recently, concerns have been expressed about the possibility of a new Cold War breaking out between the Western and Eastern Blocs due to the conflict between the USA’s current strategy of rebalancing toward Asia and the strategic alliance between China and Russia. That, along with the currently deepening maritime disputes in East Asia, casts a dark shadow over the prospects for stability in the region. Nonetheless, the successful settlement of a territorial dispute between China and Russia, which had lasted for more than 300 years, is worth looking back on as the basis for a ray of hope for East Asian countries entangled in similar disputes. There is no such thing as inevitability in history or international politics. After all, it is people who make history, although they are restricted by the environment (structure) formed by earlier history. National leaders are not people who respond to the international political environment as a robot would, but are rather persons with the power to influence events and transform a dismal reality for the better by pushing ahead with the necessary policies with resolve and commitment. That said, the future of East Asia very much depends on the types of leaders elected by the people of the countries in the region. The reality of international politics is always formed through interaction between the parties involved rather than by extremes of people and structure (or determination and determinism). The abovementioned case involving China and Russia suggests that it is possible to achieve regional peace in East Asia, provided that the politicians who are intent on inciting nationalistic fervor are removed from the equation and replaced by those who can apply the lessons of history to reality with adequate vision and capability.

YU Young Chul (Associate Research Fellow, Korea Institute for Defense Analyses) The Ukraine Crisis: Changes in International Politics & Its Impact on the Korean Peninsula

YI Seong-Woo (Senior Research Fellow, Jeju Peace Institute) Human Rights Situation in North Korea & the Assessment of Policy-Efficiency on South Korea’s Humanitarian Assistance toward North Korea

JUNG Jaewook (Professor, Sookmyung Women's University) The Transfer of Wartime Operational Control & the Korea-US Alliance (Korean only)

The ‘Dresden Plan’: Integration of Local Governments’ & Civilian Orgainzations’ Assistances toward North Korea

LEE Shin-wha (Professor, Korea University), SHIN Beom-Shik (Professor, Seoul National University), CHANG Noh soon (Professor, Halla University) Korea’s Initiatives for a Peaceful Cooperation in Northeast Asia

Regional Cooperation in Northeast Asia & the Eurasian Initiatives

Changes in Security Affairs: Drones & Arms Race

Strategy of Multilateral Cooperation in Northeast Asia: Functional Cooperation’s Potential & Limitations (Korean)