In 2018 all the big pieces in the East Asian international order were thrown up in the air. The US-China economic relationship was transformed by a trade war, their strategic relationship became one of open and declared rivalry; Korean affairs took off on a new and quite unpredictable trajectory; Taiwan edged back towards a central place in regional geopolitics; and countries throughout Asia found themselves facing tougher and tougher choices between Washington and Beijing.

So 2019 will be a big year, as we see where all these pieces land.