Recent developments in East Asia have illustrated evolving challenges to the U.S.-Japan alliance. Freedom of navigation has become one of the key geopolitical issues in the region following territorial disputes and tensions from the Yellow Sea to the South China Sea. Uncertainty on the Korean peninsula regarding the Kim Jong-il regime's succession process, North Korea's increasing aggression toward the Republic of Korea, and new developments in North Korea's nuclear program add new urgency to a traditional challenge.
On December 15, the Center for Northeast Asian Policy Studies at Brookings and the Slavic Research Center and the Global Center of Excellence (GCOE) Program at Hokkaido University in Japan hosted Japanese and American experts to discuss whether and how the U.S.-Japan alliance should address the evolving challenges of freedom of navigation and North Korea.
After each panel, participants took audience questions.