NorthRiverAsia
NorthRiverAsia
Indo-Pacific Strategic Research
Research Programme

Three pillars. Four powers. One region.

Our work is organised around three research pillars and consistently focused on the strategic triangle of the United States, Japan, Taiwan and the People's Republic of China.

I

Regional Politics & Security

We examine the evolution of the US–Japan security alliance and its implications for the Taiwan Strait, Taiwan's political and security positioning within US–China competition, and the broader military-diplomatic environment along China's periphery.
Research Streams
  • ▸US–Japan alliance and extended deterrence
  • ▸Taiwan Strait scenarios and grey-zone activity
  • ▸Northeast Asian security architecture
  • ▸PRC military modernisation & defence diplomacy
II

Foreign Policy & Strategy

We track US Indo-Pacific strategy and its effect on Sino-Japanese relations, Japan's trajectory toward 'normal nation' status and evolving Taiwan policy, and Chinese engagement with the United States across multilateral institutions including the WTO, G20 and APEC.
Research Streams
  • ▸US Indo-Pacific strategy & alliance management
  • ▸Japan's 'normal nation' transition and Taiwan policy
  • ▸PRC multilateral diplomacy and revisionist agenda
  • ▸Track 1.5 and Track 2 dialogue programmes
III

International Political Economy

We map the contest and cooperation across the semiconductor and critical-technology supply chain among the US, Japan, Taiwan and China; assess sanctions and trade policy toward the PRC; and analyse the regional financial roles of the dollar, yen and renminbi.
Research Streams
  • ▸Semiconductors and critical technology supply chains
  • ▸US and Japanese sanctions architecture toward China
  • ▸Currency, capital flows and regional financial stability
  • ▸Industrial policy and economic statecraft
Recent Publications

Selected output, 2026.

Policy Brief
Export Controls 2.0: Recalibrating the US–Japan–Netherlands Semiconductor Coalition
Nov 2026
Strategic Assessment
Taiwan in the Second Trump Term: Deterrence, Ambiguity and the Silicon Shield
Oct 2026
Working Paper
Japan's Defence Industrial Base and the Three Principles Revision
Sep 2026
Roundtable Report
Tokyo–Taipei Track 1.5 on Maritime Security
Sep 2026
Policy Brief
Renminbi Internationalisation After the Belt and Road Reset
Aug 2026
Commentary
ASEAN, AUKUS and the New Geometry of Indo-Pacific Minilateralism
Jul 2026