The European Union (EU) has the potential which it needs to develop to become a major player in international politics if it acts united, moulds its strength into a comprehensive foreign policy tool kit and makes appropriately use of it through leveraging. To this end, the EU will have “to learn to talk the language of power…, otherwise the law of the jungle will prevail.” according to the new High Representative and Vice President Josep Borrell, Strengthening the Liberal International Order, rule of law, and the rules and law based system of the United Nations through effective multilateralism is the path to follow.

This article examines the relationship between Russia and China that has developed over the past seventy years. The relationship has attracted concern by some western nations although, as pointed out in the article, to some extent it has been fostered by Western policies and actions. The article examines collaborative areas of mutual interest in energy security, namely, gas, crude oil and nuclear power, and in the area of infrastructure. The article concludes that the bond between Russia and China has been based on adaptation and accommodation to forge shared common goals and interests, including to contain or even replace the democratic system and rules based international order for their mutual benefit.

The European Union (EU) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are long-time dialogue partners. Their relationship thus far has been based more on economic utility and a generic yet shared commitment to regional integration. Facing the challenge of rising protectionism and returning nationalisms, the EU and the ASEAN are trying to overcome reciprocal suspicion and skepticism in an attempt to upgrade their relationship to “strategic partnership”. The present paper examines the potential motivations and further prospects for the two regional organizations under the banner of partners in integration. The ability of the two parties to engage with the respective identity and understand the areas of complementarity will determine the sustainability of the EU-ASEAN partnership and demonstrate the viability of region-to-region cooperation as a new paradigm of international relations.

Japan has been performing a delicate balancing act vis-à-vis major economic powers in an increasingly chaotic world trade scene marked by Trump's unpredictable policies and deepening crisis at the WTO. Japan concluded a sweeping EPA with the EU and succeeded in realizing an 11-nation TPP, while trying to achieve an RCEP with India on board. Moreover, Japan hopes its trade deal with the United States will provide bulwark against Trump's unpredictability. It remains to be seen whether Tokyo's overall trade strategy will work.

Northeast Asian countries such as China, Japan, and Korea have tried to build their FTA and participate in different mega FTA such as RCEP and TPP. TPP became CPTPP as post TPP version after the US withdrawal in 2017. Compared with other regional economic blocs such as the EU and USMCA, their economic interests are rather divided deeply and related to political and security issues in the Northeast Asian context. Therefore, it is more difficult for Northeast Asian countries to build their own economic integration closely particularly compared with the EU. It must be wise to investigate the possible economic cooperation in the region that is one of economic hubs in the world. In order to meet the research targets, various methods are used such as a method of critical analysis of literature, an inference method, and a method of statistical analysis that include quantitative and qualitative analyses. This paper deals with possible FTA between Korea, China, and Japan that could be a starting point for the regional economic integration formally. It also argues what are three nations' economic interests by participating in the mega FTAs such as RCEP and CPTPP as well as whether the two Mega FTAs can play roles in creating competitive or cooperative relations between three Northeast Asian economies or not. Finally, it analyzes the best scenario to participate in the multilateral FTA and mega FTAs for each nation.