In line with the European policy of supporting China’s economic reform and development, research institutes and companies in the European Union (EU) have been the major sources for high-technology exports to the People’s Republic of China in the past thirty years. Dual-use...

While it is clear that Japan’s legislative body, the Diet, is empowered in budgeting and oversight mechanisms, there is no consensus on whether the Diet wields actual power in influencing defense policy and whether the Diet’s role in defense policy approaches that of...

In the wake of major domestic and international changes, most especially the end of the Cold War and 9/11 for all, but additionally the collapse of the asset bubble in Japan and the transition from military authoritarianism to democratization in the ROK and Taiwan, all of...

South Korea’s defense industrial transformation has been impressive by any standard. It was able to satisfy most of its basic weapons needs within a decade after launching its defense industry. Since the late 1990s, South Korea has been elevated from a third-tier arms producer to the...

China’s military contracting and procurement system is undergoing significant changes intended to raise its professionalism, efficiency, and effectiveness. One major focus of these reforms is the Military Representative Office (MRO) system that oversees contracting and...

While many countries in the Asia-Pacific region have extensive local arms industries, in terms of technology innovation these regional producers continue to run a poor third to the United States and Western Europe. Latecomer China may gain the advantage regionally, but it remains to be seen...

This policy brief links debates about the economic development of the Asia-Pacific to possible security implications. The brief makes four points. Past periods of high growth in the region have inevitably slowed, and China’s will too. The main question is whether thishappens...

The position of an arms producing country or region in the global arms industry is dictated by the relative level of its indigenous capabilities for independent defense-related research and development (R&D) and manufacturing. Tier 1 countries such as the United States are considered...

This policy brief explains how Japan produces its annual defense white paper and how this publication and other defense reports promote transparency on Japan’s national defense. I outline the process of putting together the white paper and then suggest ways in which the...

India’s emergence as one of the great economic powers in the international system and its military strength position it to be a major player in the international system in the twenty-first century. However, its current policies, rooted in a vision of India’s role in...