Nearly a decade has passed since the end of the Cold War, and yet significant security concerns remain unresolved in East Asia. Security issues and alliances in Asia, always complex and in flux, have become even more so in light of increased uncertainty on the Korean peninsula and new, as well as continuing, obstacles preventing multilateral solutions to regional concerns. Conflicts which have long eluded resolution -- the Koreas, cross-straits relations between China and Taiwan, the danger of nuclear and missile proliferation -- continue to be of concern, while more recent trends -- terrorism in the region, the rising power of China, and the assertion of American influence abroad -- are making themselves increasingly felt in East Asia.

This session will focus on the evolving security relationships in the East Asian region and explore how cooperative and competing interests among countries in the region, as well as their alignments with outside powers pose significant future challenges to the region and the world community as a whole. Particular attention will be given to four major subthemes: the Korean peninsula; China-Taiwan relations; Southeast Asian regional stability; and Washington's bi- and multilateral relations with countries in the region.