The Impact of the Russo-Ukrainian War on Security in East Asia: The Taiwan Strait and Beyond

27.02.2023

On behalf of the Austrian Institute for International Affairs – oiip, we cordially invite you to the panel discussion on the impact of the Russo-Ukranian War on Security in East Asia.

Russia’s war against Ukraine has sent shockwaves far beyond Europe and impacted the global security situation. In East Asia, one of the concerns that arose immediately after the invasion was whether China would use the war as an opportunity to take assertive action with regard to Taiwan. This has thankfully not happened, but regional security dynamics have undergone significant changes in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion. Notably, Chinese and Taiwanese debates about the likelihood of an invasion (and its success), countermeasures, and international consequences have picked up. Similarly, Japan has explicitly linked its security to the Taiwan Strait for the first time, and in South Korea and Japan, even talk of nuclear armament is no longer off the table. North Korea, meanwhile, has sided with Russia in the UN and directly supplied the Russian armed forces with weaponry, while some Southeast Asian states and ASEAN members have condemned Russia’s war and seemingly drawn closer to the US on questions of security.

Given these developments, it is important to ask: How has the war in Ukraine affected the security situation in East Asia? Is a war over Taiwan now more likely? What lessons is China learning and what are the implications of Japan’s changed security policy? Has the potential for nuclear proliferation in the region increased? Is the balance of power between the US and China in Southeast Asia changing as regional governments react to the war in Ukraine? Are we witnessing a re-emergence of older Cold War dynamics and, if so, with what consequences?

Panel participants include Dr. Ching-Chang Chen (Professor of International Politics, Ryukoku University, Japan), Dr. Susanne Weigelin-Schwiedrzik (Professor emeritus of Sinology, University of Vienna, Austria), Dr. Alfred Gerstl (Associate Professor of Asian Studies, Palacký University of Olomouc, Czech Republic).

The event is moderated by Dr. Nina C. Krickel-Choi and Dr. Thomas Eder (Postdoctoral Researchers, Austrian Institute for International Affairs – oiip, Austria).

  • Date: Tuesday, March 7, 2023
  • Time: 17:00 - 18:30 CET
  • Venue: OIIP - Währinger Straße 3/12, 1090 Vienna.