The West and China just won’t back down from each other. China will no longer try to work through former Mayor Han of Kaohsiung to reunite Taiwan against the will of 23 million people. America wants to put new missiles… Read More ›
North Korea
Cadence Column: Asia, April 6, 2020
The pneumoniavirus is having a detrimental effect on China. While Xi Jinping kicks China’s economy into full swing, the rest of the world is on full alert. Manufacturing moves home—whether to or from China. Countries seek alternate supply sourcing. Taiwan… Read More ›
North Korea bans all foreigners in response to Chinese virus
North Korea’s communist regime banned all foreign visitors from entering the country on Tuesday as a precaution against the recent outbreak of a new coronavirus in China, according to tourist companies who operate in the country. Beijing-based Koryo Tours told… Read More ›
U.S.-North Korea tension looms as leaders from China, Japan, South Korea meet
The specter of new confrontation between Pyongyang and Washington hangs over meetings between China, Japan and South Korea this week, with growing risks North Korean actions could end an uneasy detente and upend recent diplomatic efforts. South Korean President Moon… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, September 9, 2019
The missile issues in North Korea have too much unknown about them to formulate a clear opinion. From reports, Kim has indeed kept his promise, though he has violated seemingly less significant UN sanctions. Japan is on alert. Trump doesn’t… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, June 3, 2019
The “Symphony Asian Mad Scientist Theorem” continues to play out. Trump engaged North Korea in talks that led to a calm without North Korea changing its DNA. Trump eventually reminded North Korea what everyone knew would be necessary to reach… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, May 6, 2019
Fibers are starting to snap and the solutions brought by governments always include adding more tension to the frayed rope. China heads more toward Maoism. A nation headed at warp speed into its past already has its future known. Taiwan… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, April 1, 2019
China is being overwhelmed—Huawei to the west, British probes to the south, Kim to the north, but the prospect of trade to the east. The weakness is in the Chinese-cultural paradigm of negotiation. Chinese culture wants to sign a contract… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, March 18, 2019
Drama and theatrics! The US might be in a position to enforce the Magnitsky Act against China. Now, like Taiwan before, the US is taking the pot shots. It compares to Tony Stark’s Iron Man tossing rocks at a tank… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, March 11, 2019
China doesn’t get the message, likely because China is too self-absorbed in its own culture. Detaining Canadians will provoke Canadians to support action against China to have the detained Canadians released—even supporting military action. When the US and China finally… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, March 4, 2019
Buffoons became naysayers this week, arguing that tit-for-tat military drill concessions would be the path to peace and that progress without finality in Hanoi surmounted to failure. Trump knows exactly what he is doing. Progress without “too much too fast”,… Read More ›
Western analysts got lost in the Abe-Xi maze, and failed to notice a coming synergy in East Asia
For unknown reasons, many Western political analysts made mistakes in understanding the Washington-Pyongyang relation (e.g. forecasting bloody nose strike, but being shockingly embarrassed by the Trump-Kim Singapore summit), and then the Pyongyang-Beijing relation (portraying a tension, but being surprisingly slapped… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, August 27, 2018
The Pacific is heating up bigtime. Just after Kim Jong Un meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Trump calls off a cabinet member’s visit to Pyongyang the day after the new North Korean envoy was announced. What was that all… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, June 18, 2018
Trump has stopped military exercises near North Korea, but he has not initiated any plans to withdraw troops. His reason for stopping the exercises is that they are provocative and expensive. He has a point: If the heads of state… Read More ›
What next to China after the Trump-Kim Summit may be a war
The Singapore-based Channel NewsAsia reported this on June 11: “When North Korean leader Kim Jong Un hitched a ride on an Air China plane to his summit with Donald Trump in Singapore, the signal was clear: Beijing remains Pyongyang’s diplomatic… Read More ›
Cadence of Conflict: Asia, June 4, 2018
North Korea inches further and further toward talks with the US. China fears this. If Kim Jong-Un get in the same room as the man who wrote The Art of the Deal, North Korea could become a stronger ally to… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, May 28, 2018
The US “disinvited” two countries this week, not only North Korea, but also China from the biannual naval exercises in Hawaii. Both “disinvitations” were a rescinding of a previous invitation after less than friendly saber rattling from the former invitee…. Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, May 21, 2018
Talk only went so far this week. I looks as if North Korea might not be dismantling its nukes, but hiding them, then threatening to close talks when exposed for this, then threatening to cancel the summit for some other… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, May 14, 2018
Disassembling nuke sites prior to meeting Trump may seem like a “save of face” for Kim Jong-Un, but it’s actually a statement of Trump’s influence. If Trump wasn’t an influence, then Kim wouldn’t be doing what Trump has been demanding… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, April 30, 2018
One easy way to understand, at most “anticipate, but at least be unsurprised by developments in Korea and China is the “PDT Symphony Mad Asian Scientist Theorem”. This “Mad Scientist” theorem is not fact and likely untrue, but if applied,… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, April 23, 2018
The US is arming East Asia and disarming North Korea. China is a spectator in the Western game. Reports and gossip about the latest North Korean promise to disarm ensnared many in the media. The South Korean Kumbaya singing President… Read More ›
The coming China-Korea Reintegration
Trump confirmed personally that he would be meeting Kim Jong-un in May or early June. As I have said many times in the past three years, the United States has “no other choice but talk”. Therefore, it was Pyongyang to… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, March 5, 2018
China’s changes include finances as well as politics. As the US unrelentingly inches toward absolute denuclearization of North Korea—one way or another—China delays solidarity at the UN. China has no lack of mixed messages in other areas, such as Taiwan…. Read More ›
China’s two-term limit removal and a war in 2020-5?
The CCP’s proposal to remove the two-term limits on the state’s president and vice-president, which is a disrespect of Deng Xiaoping’s will, has definitely generated various negative influences onto China as well as the world: [a] paving a route towards… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, February 26, 2018
It’s hitting the fan. China is homing-up and the US is “posseing” up. CFIUS is expanding its scope and China just required Apple to send its iCloud encryption keys to servers on the mainland. Both moves are more about caution… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, February 12, 2018
There are those who know Asia and those who don’t. There are those who know political gaming and those who don’t. Last week, Symphony said that China wouldn’t compromise in a “Sino-Vatico” deal. This week, a retired bishop in Hong… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, January 15, 2018
Jeffery Lewis at the Daily Beast has finally found a solution to the problem with North Korea: Kim Jong Un’s port-a-potty. By bombing the dynastic successor’s port-a-potty, the US would demonstrate both precision and presence. This would be the proverbial… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, January 8, 2018
The talks between South and North Korea are not at all what they are cracked up to be. While the world would love to believe that this is some grand exercise in “can’t we all just get along” diplomacy that… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, January 2, 2018
China claims no part in the Hong Kong and Taiwan -related ships recently stopped by South Korean officials for illegally supplying oil to North Korea. China’s claim might be believable, but during the holiday week, China blocked a UN attempted… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, December 18, 2017
All signs indicate a gear-up for war. The US is full on-tilt, not only in military prep, but also in blaming China. The US and China face each other with North Korea in the middle. There is nothing China or… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, December 11, 2017
More smoke got blown this week. South Korea’s president is stepping-up efforts to talk to China about North Korea. Asian culture dictates that a country as big as China doesn’t give a rat’s synthetic tail about what a small country… Read More ›
The “never been done before” Chinese air-power exercise near Korea
Amid the hearsay that State Secretary Rex Tillerson who insisted on resolving the Korean tension diplomatically would be replaced by the bellicose Mike Pompeo, the incumbent CIA Director, Alex Lockie of Business Insider – Military & Defense gives us a… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, December 4, 2017
The US is gearing up for a demonstration of it’s new Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II jets. North Korea is providing the perfect opportunity. When all is done, be ready to count the headlines in which the F-35s appear. There… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, November 27, 2017
Korea has on display the essential cultural clash that causes and sustains conflict across the world. North Korea’s leaders won’t communicate. They think non-communication entitles them to get whatever they want. South Korea’s president harbors something against Japan. It would… Read More ›
Cadence of Conflict: Asia, November 20, 2017
Trump visited China in friendship and peace. His granddaughter sang in Mandarin. Her video was played at a high profile state banquet. Everyone seemed happy. In South Korea, President Moon, likely to go down in history as a failed diplomat-wannabe,… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, November 6, 2017
While America faces its own falling “houses of cards”, Asian empires face their own truth. With three aircraft carriers, and a fourth soon on the way, the US military presence in Asia is the highest it has been in a… Read More ›
Cadence Asia: Asia, October 30, 2017
In the daily governance of Hong Kong, China has proven itself as a competent overseer. Hong Kong’s “Basic Law”, a kind of mini-constitution imposed not by referendum, keeps the SAR autonomous. Hong Kongers have only two reasons for complaint, having… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, October 23, 2017
Now, North Korea may have biological weapons. Every week, the news is worse and worse. Eventually, a conflict with North Korea will feel more like a relief to the public than an outrage, just from fatigue of bad news overdose…. Read More ›
Cadence of Conflict: Asia, October 16, 2017
It’s not quite there yet. Korea’s conflict escalates, but there’s still more mount to climb. Trump is increasing weapons sales to South Korea and Japan, based on a September 5 Tweet; North Korea called him a “strangler of peace” and… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, October 9, 2017
Taiwan publicized reports that China was pushing for its dream of reunification through many venues and in many nations. The fact that China works so diligently through aggressive diplomacy further indicates that the “military option” being less than preferable with… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, October 2, 2017
Things are stepping-up in Korea. The US is gearing up for a “military option”. The question is how China will respond. China’s approach with Taiwan is a contrast of priorities or a strong indication about China’s approach with North Korea…. Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, September 25, 2017
China is taking a turn for the better over North Korea’s “Rocket Man”. Stronger sanctions, limits on trade, cutting off oil, halting banking—it was all a wise move on China’s part. At the United Nations, North Korea made no new… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, September 18, 2017
China’s situation is growing more and more similar to North Korea’s. They seek to “match” the US in military strength, but aim to do so without US economics. Without the economics it will be hard to match anything. Slowly, but… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, September 11, 2017
The North Korean situation makes much more sense when seen from the perspective of a film director performing a social experiment. Film makers, directors, actors, screen writers—they love to do good “real life” research. If one was making a movie… Read More ›
China remains calm while South Koreans worry mass evacuation by Japan and U.S.
The Associated Press reported on Sept 4 that there is “a growing worry that has many in South Korea and Japan asking a startling question … namely a separation or ‘decoupling’ of the decades-old security alliance between the United States… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, September 4, 2017
Korea’s situation is amplifying. We know this. North Korea is making more threats than ever with it’s “boy king” on the iron clad throne. We know that military options are 1. relevant and 2. undesirable. The Pentagon consistently barks about… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, August 28, 2017
China should be upset over North Korea for deeper reasons than on the surface. Trump’s “fire and fury” comment a few weeks ago was the clear explanation. Donald Trump was not in favor of the W. Bush invasion of Iraq…. Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, August 21, 2017
After President Trump warned that North Korea must never make any more threats, North Korea is making more threats than ever. Trump mentioned Hawaii and Guam in his warning, North Korea mentioned Hawaii and Guam in this week’s threats. Again,… Read More ›
China appreciates Tillerson’s “Four Nos” on North Korea
“We do not seek a regime change, we do not seek a collapse of the regime, we do not seek an accelerated reunification of the peninsula, we do not seek an excuse to send our military north of the 38th… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, August 7, 2017
If North Korea heeds China’s urges to back down on its nuclear program, it would be a welcome first. China requested the US back down its military activity in South Korea. Russia does not want North Korea’s economy to become… Read More ›
