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Asia-Pacific Research Forum

The Asia-Pacific Research Forum is an informal community of interest supported by the RAND Center for Asia Pacific Policy and Defense and Political Sciences Department to give Asia-Pacific scholars at RAND a platform to share resources, information, and ideas, as well as to create a channel for external stakeholders and thought leaders interested in Asia-Pacific issues to access relevant RAND research, researchers, and events.

Recent Publications and Events

Report
China's Evolving Military Strategy and Doctrine
Edmund J. Burke, Kristen Gunness, et al.

The People's Liberation Army has made impressive modernization progress over the past three decades, but it is unclear how its efforts will translate to battlefield performance. Chinese military theory, strategy, and operational concepts are key to understanding how the PLA might fight when needed.
Commentary
North Korea Has Agreed to Denuclearization. Trump Could Try to Make It Happen
Bruce W. Bennett @bwbennett, Soo W. Kim @mllesookim

President Trump came into office determined to rein in the North Korean nuclear weapons program, but it has become quite clear that North Korea has no intention of giving it up. How might the United States bring North Korea into compliance with its denuclearization commitments?
Commentary
Taiwan’s KMT May Have a Serious '1992 Consensus' Problem
Derek Grossman @DerekJGrossman, Brandon Alexander Millan

The 1992 Consensus is an agreement between the Kuomintang opposition party in Taiwan and mainland Chinese authorities on the existence of only “One China.” Maintaining the 1992 Consensus as the cornerstone of the Kuomintang's platform has not helped the party's cause, and more importantly, has probably done the opposite.
Commentary
Ambiguity Has Its Uses
Michael J. Mazarr @MMazarr

As China's thirst to resolve the Taiwan issue intensifies, the United States' halfhearted commitment to the island will become increasingly perilous: too weak to deter Chinese aggression but strong enough to drag the United States into a war. No U.S. approach to Taiwan will offer a perfect guarantee of peace. But the United States has many options short of the provocative, costly, and diplomatically risky step of an unconditional security pledge.
Commentary
Could Time Be Up for TikTok?
Daniel Gonzales @gonzadan, Sarah Harting, et al.

Is it possible for ByteDance to maintain ownership in TikTok Global while ameliorating U.S. national security concerns? At the heart of any deal should be a highly technical agreement on data security issues—one that not only the two companies but the two governments might have to agree to.
Commentary
In the Middle East, Russia and China Expand Their Influence
Ali Wyne, Colin P. Clarke

While the United States is concerned primarily about a resurgent China's inroads in the Middle East, it is also nervous about the gambits of a revanchist Russia. As the United States decides when and how to contest China and Russia—in and beyond the Middle East—it will have to resist alarmism as vigorously as complacency.
Blog
Wildfires, America's Wealth Gap, Screening for COVID-19 at Work: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on the growing risk of wildfires, how Americans' incomes have grown (or not), workplace screenings for COVID-19 symptoms, and more.
Event
RAND Visit by U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper
U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper will visit RAND's Santa Monica headquarters and give brief remarks regarding the security competition with China and the state of the United States' defense industrial base. [Livestream]
Commentary
America's Indo-Pacific Vision Is Becoming a Reality—Because of China
Derek Grossman @DerekJGrossman

The Trump administration's Indo-Pacific strategy has received a significant boost in recent months toward achieving its goal of keeping the region “free and open” from Chinese coercion. Ironically, China itself has been doing the boosting.
Commentary
Are Counter Violent Extremism Interventions Effective?
Todd C. Helmus @Helmus, Elizabeth Bodine-Baron @bodinebaron

Government efforts to counter the propaganda and radicalization that lead to violent extremism are becoming more common around the world, but there's little research on whether such programs work. It is critical to conduct more research to tease out which programs are most effective.

Featured Researchers