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Changing Security Dynamic
in Eastern Asia Focus on Japan
Any threat to the growing clout of China in East Asia is a cause for happiness in Japan. It is a different matter that the Japanese cannot express it so openly at this stage. They have not only been envious but also greatly worried about the rising economic and military profile of China. The bitter history involving the two nations has been causing occasional hiccups in their relations. The Japanese have been feeling uneasy more because of the US being instrumental, directly or indirectly, in China’s fast-growing dominance in East Asia, despite the close relations between the US and Japan. The pull of China in the region has been so great during the past few years that the Japanese could not avoid multiplying their investments in that country. The pragmatic communist giant has replaced the US as the biggest trading partner of Japan and South Korea. While this speaks volumes about the emergence of China as the most preferred choice for investment in Asia, it also reflects Japan’s economic compulsions. It is argued by some people that growing interdependence among the countries of the region, as in the rest of the world, will ensure that China remains a benign power even after it attains a super power status, as expected. However, Japanese rulers have been under tremendous pressure from various quarters to change their security policy. This school of thought has been of the view that the time has come for a break with the past and hence the move for converting the Japanese self-defence forces into a vibrant national military machine. The book under review provides enough insight into the changing economic and security scenario in East Asia. It is based on the papers presented at the Seventh Asian Security Conference organised by the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses in January 2005. The special focus on Japan is intended to highlight the country’s security and foreign policies in the post-Cold War period. Any policy shift in Tokyo is bound to have an impact on the situation in the entire region. At present East Asians have great expectations from India, which is seen as the future countervailing force vis-`E0-vis China, particularly after the nuclear deal with the US. India is uniquely placed not only because of its huge market size but also owing to its vast technological and financial base. Trade within the region is rising fast, and the changing economic relations will definitely influence political equations. India has to prepare itself to play a major role on both economic and security fronts. India’s ‘Look-East policy’, no doubt, has begun to pay dividends, but there is a need to fine-tune it in view of the increasing interest of the influential world capitals in East Asia. The book is a well brought out addition to the literature available on the subject. One can find in it country-wise perspectives on the East Asian scene. Serious students of world affairs must go through this highly informative volume and keep it for future reference despite the prohibitive cost. |
THE Indo-US nuclear deal
for peaceful purposes must have caused considerable relief in Japan,
though Tokyo has nothing to do with it directly. The reason is the
belief that the development will lessen the significance of China in the
US scheme of things in the region.