Far East and Middle East: An Investigation of Strategic Linkages

Abstract

The geographically and culturally distant Far East and Middle East have become of great strategic interest to the US. The first goal of this study is to identify links between China and the DPRK on the one hand, and several Middle Eastern states on the other hand. The second goal is consider the implications of these links for US policy in these two regions. Key factors linking the two regions include Muslim populations in China, China and the DPRK's need for Middle Eastern oil, the pursuit of several Middle Eastern states for weapons of mass destruction available only outside legitimate international markets, and mutual concern about US global hegemony. The study concludes that current US strategic relationships in the Middle East limit the potential for China and the DPRK to expand their influence in the region. But the potential for stronger linkages between Far East and Middle East exist, and China and the DPRK could subvert US strategic objectives in the Middle East in several ways, for example by proliferating WMD, providing economic support to Iraq and other "rogue" regimes.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 01, 2002
Accession Number
ADA410724

Entities

People

  • Caroline F. Ziemke
  • Kongdan Hassig

Organizations

  • Institute for Defense Analyses

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Counter WMD
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Commerce
  • Department Of Defense
  • Economic Systems
  • Ethnic Groups
  • Far East
  • Foreign Policy
  • Foreign Relations
  • Governments
  • Intergovernmental Organizations
  • International Organizations
  • International Relations
  • Minority Groups
  • National Governments
  • Terrorists
  • United States
  • Ussr
  • Weapons Of Mass Destruction

Fields of Study

  • Political science

Readers

  • East Asian Political and Security Studies within the Soviet Union
  • International Relations, focusing on Korea-Africa and North Korea-South Korea relations, and Nigeria-Latin American Relations.