Vietnam's strategic hedging vis-à-vis China: the roles of the European Union and Russia

Against the backdrop of China's assertive policies in the South China Sea, the present study evaluates how Vietnam has sought to mitigate the increasingly unequal regional power distribution vis-à-vis China. It argues that Vietnam tends to cope with China mainly by engaging itself in hedging strategies on the basis of diversified and strong relationships with different players. Appraising the roles of Russia and the European Union (EU), the study analyzes the pay-offs of Vietnam's military hedging with Russia and its economic hedging with the EU.

Swords into ploughshares? China's Soft Power strategy in Southeast Asia and its challenges1

Since the 1990s, alongside China's economic growth, the international community has fostered a general anxiety towards a "China threat." In order to relieve itself from suspicion, China adopted the dual strategies of "harmonious worldview" and "good neighbor policy." The strategies led to the use of soft power in China's foreign policy. China aimed to reduce security concerns implied by the threat theory by supporting an image that caters to international peace and development. This article seeks to explain how China achieves its interests in Southeast Asia through the use of soft power. The authors address the concepts of "harmonious worldview" and "good neighbor policy" and how the twin strategies and soft power have shaped China's foreign policy in recent years. This article aims to provide insights into China's policy options in Southeast Asia in the near future.

Os sites dos ministérios de relações exteriores no mundo e a História

A Internet é aqui considerada uma fonte alternativa do estudo da história, sobretudo história das relações diplomáticas. São analisados os sites dos ministérios das relações exteriores pelo mundo: alguns atribuem grande importância à história, com detalhada visão retrospectiva (Brasil, França, México, Rússia, Alemanha, Estados Unidos), outros têm abordagem seletiva ou restrita a determinados períodos (Espanha, Argentina, Itália, Bélgica, Portugal, China, Japão), uns se voltam para o passado, somente com informações históricas que sejam indispensáveis à imagem nacional (Suíça) e outros mostram sua história voltada para o futuro (Grã-Bretanha).

Towards an uncertain future? The strengthening of Japan's autonomy in Asia-Pacific

Recently, Japan has been increasing tensions with China regarding the Pinnacle Senkaku/Diaoyu islands. Due to the Chinese military development, Japan has been working on its political and military strengthening in Asia. This essay presents two possible scenarios for Japan.

Whole-genome sequencing of a Plasmodium vivax isolate from the China-Myanmar border area

Currently, there is a trend of an increasing number of Plasmodium vivaxmalaria cases in China that are imported across its Southeast Asia border, especially in the China-Myanmar border area (CMB). To date, little is known about the genetic diversity of P. vivaxin this region. In this paper, we report the first genome sequencing of a P. vivaxisolate (CMB-1) from a vivax malaria patient in CMB. The sequencing data were aligned onto 96.43% of the P. vivaxSalvador I reference strain (Sal I) genome with 7.84-fold coverage as well as onto 98.32% of 14 Sal I chromosomes. Using the de novoassembly approach, we generated 8,541 scaffolds and assembled a total of 27.1 Mb of sequence into CMB-1 scaffolds. Furthermore, we identified all 295 known virgenes, which is the largest subtelomeric multigene family in malaria parasites. These results provide an important foundation for further research onP. vivaxpopulation genetics.