Session: Session 3
Date/Time: April 24, 2019 / 13:30-15:00

Moderator:
Kato Yoichi, Asia Pacific Initiative

Speakers:
Abe Nobuyasu, Harvard Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Alexander Gabuev, Carnegie Russia
Park Jiyoung, The Asan Institute for Policy Studies
Nicolas Regaud, French Ministry of Defense
 

Panel Description
U.S. President Donald Trump has announced that the U.S. will withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), which is an arms control treaty with Russia. The rationale behind Washington’s decision to pull out of the INF goes beyond an alleged Russian violation of the treaty. Equally important is the need to constrain China that is increasingly challenging the U.S. dominance in the Pacific. Meanwhile, South Korea purchased 40 F-35A stealth fighters and Japan ordered 105 more F-35s and plans to jointly develop a next-generation stealth fighter with the U.S. to replace the F-2 fighter. Are we entering a new arms race? What are the implications of the U.S. withdrawal from the INF for Northeast Asia? Will new multilateral arms control regimes involving China emerge? What are the implications of the inter-Korean military agreement signed on Sept. 19 last year for South Korea’s arms buildup?