Michael Pillsbury, an analyst who has advised nearly every U.S. president since Richard Nixon, told an international conference in South Korea on Friday that Chinese President Xi Jinping and the Japanese Communist Party both believe they can use the Abe assassination — and the gunman’s claimed grievances with the Unification Church — to smear the church‘s reputation, denigrate Abe‘s legacy, and compromise religious freedom in Japan and across the region.

Mr. Pillsbury, a prolific author and analyst who advised in some capacity every president since Richard Nixon, says the U.S. and China are so economically intertwined that the prospect of a major clash remains low.

This month’s forum features Amb. Christopher Hill, Dr. Alexandre Mansourov, and Dr. Michael Jenkins with

Mr. Pillsbury said delivery on such deals often gets delayed indefinitely, and he called it a gross overstatement to say the U.S. sells Taiwan “advanced weaponry.” He said Washington often does not meet specific Taiwanese weapons requests.

“My warning has been: We don’t want the 2020 election year to become greatly intensified