• 8 June
  • North Korea’s vulnerability gap
    Interview with RT Moscow
    Live interview ranging over the surge in North Korean tests due to the vulnerability gap between being seen as capable of producing a nuclear missile able to reaching the continental US and the attainment of that capability, the dual significance of anti-ship missiles, Abe’s use of tests as a pretext for remilitarisation, and the current ability of North Korea to retaliate at a local level making war unlikely.
• 29 May
  • The implications of current North Korean missile tests
    Interview with RT Moscow
    Missiles are being developed for deterrence rather than attack, North Korea is pushing ahead very quickly because it is in a vulnerability gap between having a potential deterrent and being able to deploy it, NK current ability to retaliate against US troops and civilians in the region makes war unlikely, and the hope that Moon Jae-in may be able to persuade US to accept peaceful coexistence.

• 3 May
  • Japanese remilitarisation
    On Abe using tension in Korea to promote scrapping of the Peace Constitution and to advance remilitarisation, and how this serves US confrontation with China, and with Russia
    RT interview segment
    The full interview dealt with the following questions:
    What would be the major consequences if the Constitution is changed?
    1) How it can change the balance of powers in the region?
    2) Do you believe this could be the best political moment for Abe to push for the constitutional changes?
    3) Is Abe actually using the fear of the Japanese people towards the Korean aggression to reach his own goals?
    4) Is the peace movement still strong in Japan and do you believe it can be a real opposition to Abe’s plans?

2016

• 8 June
  • Protests at US bases in Okinawa
    RT interview segment

• 20 March
  • Looking in the right direction: Establishing a framework for analysing the situation on the Korean Peninsula (and much more besides)
    presentation at a webinar organised by the Korea Policy Institute held 20 March 2016
    [US NK policy] [Audio]

2015

• 10 December
  • Okinawa: The Disneyland ploy
    RT interview segment
    The full interview dealt with the following questions:
    1) How do you view this idea - to swap the U.S. military base in Okinawa for a Disneyland?
    2) But the governer of Okinawa wants the U.S. base to be permanently closed, not relocated. Why is this Disneyland idea being suggested?
    3) Local residents have been protesting the U.S. base for a while. Is this Disneyland idea meant to distract them and buy their favour?
    4) Do you think we'll see more protests against the base?
    5) The opposition governer even went to court to get rid of the base. What will the outcome be, do you think?

• 29 October
  • Australia and the China-US standoff in the South China Sea
    RT interview segment

• 18 September
  • Japanese remilitarisation moves forward
    RT interview segment

• 21 August
  • Current tension on Korean peninsula
    RT interview segment with Tim Beal, 21 August 2015
    The full interview dealt with the following questions:
      1. How concerned should we be with the situation on the Korean Peninsula? We've seen military incidents and strong words from both sides before...  
    2. The brawl over propagandist loudspeakers looks like a weak excuse for starting a full-scale war. Is it the real case here?   
    3. The situation is hanging in the balance - What do you think the major powers should do now?   
    Could their interference even aggravate the situation?   
    4. Will the major powers step-in if the conflict escalates?   
    5.  The six-party talks (Koreas, China, Japan, US, Russia) have shown little progress after 12 years of negotiations. Are you forseeing any changes after the currnet stand-off?

• 10 August
  • Pause on relocation of Okinawa base
    RT interview segment with Tim Beal, 10 August 2015

• 4 June
  • Struggle against US bases in Okinawa continues
    RT interview segment with Tim Beal, 4 June 2015
    • 1.  U.S. officials say that U.S. troop presence on the Japanese island is fundamental to the U.S. commitment to defend Japan. But is there any threat to Japan?  
    • 2. The Okinawa Governor is now in Washington where he is trying to make U.S. authorities change their mind. Is there any chances that the governor will make them change the plans?  
    • 3.  Japanese authorities say that Japan needs military reform. There have already  been some steps. (Now Japan military may support foreign forces abroad for first time in 70 years). Is keeping U.S. base in Okinawa a part of Tokyo's new security vision?  
    • 4. Could we say that expanding of military bases in Asian region is a crucial part of U.S. policy in the region?  
    • 5. There have been many protests of Okinawa's residents against U.S. base there. Why does Tokyo ignore them?  
    • 6. If the base were to be closed down - how would it influence the local economy?
  • Raw interview
• 24 May
  • Protests in Okinawa against US bases
    
    RT interview segment with Tim Beal, 19 May 2015. The segment was used that day and again in the Weekly Edition on 24 May
    
    • Weekly Edition
      The full interview dealt with the following questions:
    • 1. How successful were attempts of Okinawans to oppose the re-location of the Futenma base? Do you believe activists' attempts may actually make the government change their mind?  
    • 2. Why is Japanese government so desoerate to keep the bases on Okinawa?  
    • 3. Would you say the military presence of US soldiers make Japan dependant on American policy?  
    • 4. What  position does Japan occupy today in terms of relations with surrounding Asian countries?  
    • 5. How can the ongoing process of militarisation of Japan influence the status-quo in the region?
• 27 April
  • Abe Shinzo’s visit to the US
    RT interview segment with Tim Beal, 27th April 2015. The full interview dealt with the following questions:
    
    • 1. Japan seems to indicate that it wants more of a global security presence. Do you think we will see Mr. Abe do away with the pacifist parts of the Japanese constitution, especially at a sensitive time, when the world is commemorating the 70th anniversary of the end of World War Two ?  
      [Abe is a canny politician and will be sensitive to the anniversary, and his audience, but the underlying drive for remilitarization and Japan becoming a ‘normal’ nation’ will continue. The move to revise the constitution has been replaced by ‘reinterpretation’, where the constitution is declared to mean the opposite of what it actually says. One example of semantics is the phrase ‘proactive pacifism’ to describe the dispatch of Japanese troops to overseas combat]
    • 2. Japan says that China is "increasing its hegemonic motivation", and wants the U.S. to come to the rescue. Are Tokyo’s worries justified ?
       [Whilst there are disputes between China and Japan, Abe is primarily using the ‘threat’ of China (and North Korea) as an excuse acceptable to the Americans for remilitarization. The containment of China is central to US foreign policy, while for Japan being the key part of this is a stepping stone to remilitarization]
    • 3. Do you think the United States will help Japan by exerting more pressure on China, in terms of issues like the East China Sea dispute ?
       [Yes, both countries have a shared interest in utilizing territorial disputes with China, though their startegies and final objectives may vary]
    • 4. How much do you think the U.S. military industrial complex will benefit, if Japan starts to increase its security and military prowess ?
       [In the short run Japan is, and has been for years, an important customer, but it will increasingly become a competitor. The current moves to sell submarines to Australia are an example. The US military industrial complex may ultimately regret the remilitarization of Japan]
• 13 April
  • US constraints on Intel sales to China’s supercomputers
    RT interview segment with Tim Beal, 13th April 2015. The full interview dealt with the following questions:
    
    • 1. Are Washington's nuclear concerns legitimate here, and if so, why haven't they done something like this earlier ?
    • 2. Do you think other companies could also be banned from doing business with countries like China, because of what the U.S. calls "National security interests"? 
    • 3. Where does this stop for the U.S. ? Are they going to try and micro-manage trade with every nuclear power now ?
    • 4. Do you see China taking any sort of similar counter-measures against Washington now ?
    • 5. In your opinion, could we see a new type of technological computer arms race emerge ?
• 4 February
  • Abe, ISIS, and Japanese remilitarisation
    RT interview segment with Tim Beal, 4th February 2015. The full interview dealt with the following questions:
    
    • 1. Japan essentially has pacifism "hard wired" into its constitution, specifically Article 9 which prevents offensive military engagements abroad. So is China right to be concerned that this could all of a sudden start changing now ?   
    • 2. There have been some explosive allegations, even in Japanese press, that Abe may have provoked the hostage crisis to get public support: Japan’s Prime Minister Knew He Was Putting Hostage Lives at Risk   What do you make of those allegations ?  
    • 3. Since U.S. and China are allies and Obama's been talking about a "pivot to Asia" for a while - do you think the United States could be pushing for Japan to become more militarized behind the scenes, to have a stronger ally in the region ?  
    • 4. And do you think Japan will revise its Middle East policy as well, in light of what happened with the hostage killings recently ?

• 11 & 12 June
  • On Japanese ‘collective self-defence’
    Tim Beal discusses the following questions for RT Moscow:

    1.  Japan's Prime Minister has recently announced that his government would seek to lift the ban on so called "collective self-defense" as a way to “strengthen deterrent force”. Why do you think he has made this decision?  
    2. Japan's neighbours can't have forgotten the country's militarism of early last century. What could be the consequences of its decision to expand military involvement in the region?  
    3. Why does the U.S. support the idea of a more powerful Japanese military?  
    4. New Zealand along with the U.S., Australia and several other is involved in creating a "security complex", which some experts consider as part of a plan to counterbalance China. What is your take on that?

• 17 June
  • On the US rejection of DPRK peace talks proposal
    Interview with RT Moscow, 16 June 2013

• 28, 29 May
  • “It’s the Americans, stupid!” Making sense of the latest Korean crisis
    Tim Beal
    The media focuses on North Korea on the mistaken assumption that Pyongyang is the sole cause of the current crisis. Things are more complex than that. To paraphrase Bill Clinton, “It’s the Americans, stupid!” Or to be more accurate, we can only understand what is going on if we examine current events within the context of the geopolitical interplay between the main actors. That means the two Koreas, Japan, Russia, China, and the most powerful one of them all, the United States.
    Asia Forum of Wellington, Tuesday 28 May 2013
    Rotary Club of Port Nicholson, Wednesday 29 May

• 23 April
  • Interview with Yulia Shapovalova, Russia Today, Moscow
    On North Korea’s demand for nuclear weapons state status
• 13 April
  • Interview with Emma Jolliff, 3 News, Wellington
    
• 8 April
  • Interview with Kathryn Ryan, Nine to Noon, Radio NZ
    

  • Interview with Andrew Farmer, Russia Today, Moscow
    127MB file

• 4-5 April
  • Radio New Zealand
    Commentaries in programmes, no links available