Just two days after Pacific Century interviewed Japan’s Defense Minister, Misha returns solo for breaking news: Shinzo Abe, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, unexpectedly resigned.  Misha discusses Abe’s legacy, how he changed Japan, and what his resignation means for Japan, Asia, and the United States.

Misha gets a new sound system just in time for John and him to welcome Taro Kono, Japan’s Defense Minister. Minister Kono, who also served as Japan’s Foreign Minister, talks about the ways in which the Japanese military has modernized over the past decade, and discusses the worsening threats from China and North Korea. Minister Kono also explains the role of Japan’s alliances with the US and other nations, including Australia and India, which are a crucial part of Tokyo’s defense strategy.

John and Misha welcome their colleague, Larry Diamond, one of the world’s preeminent scholars of democracy, to talk about the global scope of the China challenge.  Larry discusses the strategy of the CCP and its comprehensive targeting of the West’s political, academic, cultural, and media cultures to both promote Beijing’s ambitions and stifle criticism.  Larry also discusses the work he spearheads at Hoover on China’s influence campaigns, “sharp power,” and Taiwan in the Indo-Pacific.

With John off promoting his new book, Misha flies solo to interview retired Air Force general and current Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs David Stilwell.  Misha and the Assistant Secretary talk about the Trump Administration’s policy of reciprocity towards Beijing, and how that led to the closing of the Chinese consulate in Houston. They also discuss response to the new national security law in Hong Kong, the 5G race, Beijing’s propaganda campaigns, and in the South China Sea.

John and Misha welcome Julian Ku to discuss China and law.  Julian is the Deane Distinguished Professor of Constitutional Law and associate dean at Hofstra Law School and his recent work focuses on China’s relationship with international law.  He debates China’s claims to the South China Seas in light of the U.S. State Department’s new announcement opposing Beijing’s claims, the scope of China’s objectives in Hong Kong, and the differences between China’s business law and criminal law.  

John and Misha interview Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu on how Taiwan beat COVID-19 and gave aid to the world, on Taiwan’s increasingly close partnership with the US and its desire to increase its global role, and how China’s new national security law in Hong Kong is the latest in a pattern of threats to stability in Asia.

The podcast snares its hardest-to-get guest: host Misha Auslin!  John Yoo interviews Misha on his new book, Asia’s New Geopolitics: Essays on Reshaping the Indo-Pacific, just out from Hoover Institution Press. John and Misha discuss Misha’s striking view comparing the Pacific to the Mediterranean, the sources of Chinese and Japanese foreign policy, and how a future historian might view a US-China military conflict. 

Michael Auslin and John Yoo welcome Nadege Rolland to the podcast. After working as a China analyst for the French Government for two decades, Rolland joined the National Bureau of Asian Research as a senior fellow.  Her new report, “China’s Vision for a New World Order” discusses how the Chinese Communist Party is using “discourse power” to delegitimize liberal ideas and values and reshape global norms. Beijing is then challenging Western and American ideas of what the global order should look like, in order to create its own hegemony. Rolland sees this new hegemony as partial, loose, and malleable, stretching across the globe, with a particular focus on the Global South. 

Michael Auslin and John Yoo welcome Congressman Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) to the podcast. Gallagher joined the Marine Corps after graduating from college and deployed to Iraq twice.  A recipient of advanced degrees in intelligence and international relations, Gallagher served as a staffer on the foreign relations committee, an advisor to Governor Scott Walker, and won election to Wisconsin’s eighth district in 2016. A member of a new congressional task force on China, Gallagher shares his thoughts on America’s bipartisan change in policy toward China, Beijing's new aggressiveness abroad, and what the U.S. can do to respond to Hong Kong, the South China Seas, and the coronavirus outbreak.

Recorded May 28, 2020

Misha and John welcome a Bill Bishop, author of the widely-read Sinocism Newsletter, called by some “the presidential daily brief for China hands.” Bishop is an entrepreneur and former media executive with more than a decade living in and decoding China. Misha and John ask him about the importance of the recent National People’s Congress meeting in Beijing and its decision to impose a national security law on Hong Kong. They end by discussing options for the United States and its allies in response to China’s tightening of control over Hong Kong.