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The Asia-Pacific in 2016: What to Expect.
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The Asia-Pacific in 2016: What to Expect.

The Diplomat’s authors look at the trends to watch across the region in the coming year.

By Bo Zhiyue, Shannon Tiezzi, Akhilesh Pillalamarri, Ankit Panda, Yuki Tatsumi, Luke Hunt, Prashanth Parameswaran, Steven Denney, Catherine Putz, Carl Thayer, James Pach, Muhammad Akbar Notezai and Anthony Fensom

Twelve months ago, in this space The Diplomat’s authors looked ahead at the trends and developments likely to dominate the region. From China’s ongoing crackdown on corruption to the struggles of Australia’s then Prime Minister Tony Abbott, our goal was to give our readers a framework for thinking about the year ahead.

Naturally, events have the capacity to be game changers. For the Asia-Pacific in 2015, we might point to the Paris climate change deal, the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, the Iran nuclear deal, the thumping government victory in Singapore’s elections, and the equally thumping opposition victory in Myanmar. Still, many of the trends we identified did dominate 2015. Tensions rose in the South China Sea. China grappled with an increasingly tricky economic transition. Rising Hindu nationalism emerged as a growing concern in India. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe balanced his own nationalist impulses with the economic imperative of calm in East Asia.

So once again, we asked our writers and editors to nominate the trends they think we should be across the region as we head into 2016.

  1. China Domestic Affairs
  2. China Foreign Affairs
  3. India Domestic
  4. India Foreign Affairs
  5. Japan
  6. Southeast Asia I
  7. Southeast Asia II
  8. Koreas
  9. Central Asia
  10. Maritime Disputes
  11. Australia
  12. Pakistan
  13. Asian Economies

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The Authors

Bo Zhiyue is Director of the New Zealand Contemporary China Research Centre (NZCCRC) and professor of Political Science at Victoria University of Wellington

Shannon Tiezzi is managing editor at The Diplomat.
Akhilesh Pillalamarri writes for The Diplomat’s South Asia section.
Ankit Panda is an associate editor at The Diplomat.

Yuki Tatsumi is Senior Associate of the East Asia Program at the Stimson Center in Washington, D.C.

Luke Hunt writes for The Diplomat’s Southeast Asia section.

Prashanth Parameswaran is associate editor at The Diplomat.

Steven Denney writes for The Diplomat’s Koreas section.
Catherine Putz is the special projects editor at The Diplomat.

Carl Thayer is a Southeast Asia regional specialist who taught at the Australian Defence Force Academy, Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, Australian Command and Staff College, and Centre for Defence and Strategic Studies, Australian Defence College.

James Pach is editor of The Diplomat.

Muhammad Akbar Notezai is a columnist at the Daily Times.

Anthony Fensom writes for The Diplomat’s Pacific Money section.
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