Forum on Asia-Pacific Security (FAPS)

Professor Donald S. Zagoria

Project Director

The Forum on Asia Pacific Security runs five major track II dialogues on regional security issues in the Asia-Pacific. The first, on U.S., China and cross-Strait Relations has both a specific focus, to try to maintain and enhance the peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and a broader agenda, which tries to expand the areas of cooperation between the United States and China, while minimizing the possibilities for mistrust and potential conflict. The second dialogue strives to facilitate the denuclearization of North Korea. The NCAFP works with the United States’ regional partners (China, Japan, South Korea and to some extent Russia), each of which has different interests and views on how best to approach North Korea, in an effort to coordinate our approaches. At the same time the NCAFP holds bilateral dialogues with the DPRK and has been doing so since 2003. The third is an “Alliances” dialogue with Japan and South Korea. While fostering multilateralism in the Asia-Pacific region, it is crucial that the United States strengthen its ties with its historical allies, Japan and South Korea. The fourth Track II project is a quadrilateral dialogue bringing together the United States, Japan, China and the Republic of Korea (ROK) to discuss both regional and global issues and to develop a common strategic vision. Finally, project director Professor Zagoria and the Forum have recently started a strategic U.S.-PRC dialogue at the Track 1½ level. Building mutual strategic trust will be crucial to maintaining peaceful relations between the U.S. and China, the two countries which are destined to be the strongest powers in the international system in the 21st century.