Cornell Studies in Security Affairs. Ithaca; London: Cornell University Press, 2017. ix, 304 pp. (Graphs.) US$29.95, paper. ISBN 978-1-5017-0919-7.
In the new century, East Asia has proven to be a powerhouse of dynamic growth, and the region is playing a crucial role in the global economy. The region is drawing growing attention as a showcase of diversity, in terms of both culture and patterns of development, and as an intersection of international interests. Several major powers have shifted their focus to East Asia and the Pacific resulting in both co-operation and competition. In the meantime, East Asia continues to be troubled by complex and sensitive issues from the past, and unsettled historical problems and current disagreements intertwine. Robert Ross and Øystein Tunsjø offer a comprehensive overview of this important topic in an extraordinary collection of essays, the result of three years of cooperation between Peking University and the Norwegian Institute for Defense Studies. In this volume a group of internationally prominent scholars discuss how China’s rise challenges the security order of East Asia, increasing conflict and confrontation, as has already been seen in maritime territorial disputes and other regional security issues. This book surely fills some major gaps in strategy studies, and can serve either as a reference for policy makers and Asian specialists, or as a supplementary text for teachers and college students.
The interdisciplinary research represented in this volume includes nine authoritative papers. The first essay, by Randall Schweller, argues that China’s rise does not determine the security policies of East Asian countries; domestic politics determine each state’s response to the changing security environment in East Asia. Political uncertainties in China, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, and North Korea have all contributed to regional uncertainty and heightened tensions. In chapter 2, Tunsjø discusses US-China bipolarity in East Asia by developing a hedging framework for analysis. His study examines the impact of the emerging bipolar US-China structure on East Asian security affairs and strategic adjustment throughout the region. Daniel Drezner, however, argues in chapter 3 that China has yet to challenge the US as the anchor of the global financial system, even though China has enjoyed rapid economic growth. The renminbi (Chinese currency) is unable to compete against the US dollar, which continues to play a dominant role in the regional financial market. Wang Dong, author of chapter 4, disagrees, and tries to prove from a Chinese perspective that China’s rise has challenged US market dominance in East Asia. Nevertheless, he believes in a “dual structure,” a China-centred economic Asia and a US-centred security Asia.
Ian Bowers and Bjørn Elias Mikalsen Grønning examine Japan’s new strategy toward the “power shift” and the main sources of Japan’s adjustment in chapter 5. They point out the “power shift” in Sino-Japanese relations, when the Chinese economy overcame that of Japan, which has brought about new challenges and threats to Japanese security. James Reilly continues the discussion on changing Sino-Japanese economic relations in chapter 6. He states that the rise of the Chinese economy has reduced the traditional economic interdependence and cooperation between China and Japan, and that displays of nationalism as well as conflict over the Senkaku/Diaoyou Islands may increase in both countries in the near future. In chapter 7, Chung-in Moon looks into economic cooperation between Beijing and Seoul, not only with regard to South Korea’s dependence on the Chinese economy, but also its growing dependence on China’s communication and management of North Korea. This dependence has brought uncertainties and instabilities to Seoul’s policy making. M. Taylor Fravel focuses his analysis in chapter 8 on US management of its alliance in the Pacific in the context of the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. According to Fravel, the US has largely succeeded in reassuring its allies of its defense commitments, while not escalating tensions in the South China Sea. In the book’s final chapter, Robert Ross analyzes how each nation has used third-party coercive diplomacy to compel the others and maintain US-China cooperation and positive relationships for regional security. But the rise of China has diminished the effectiveness of third-party coercion in easing tensions in East Asia.
Most of the authors here point to the rise of China as the major destabilizing factor in the region. China’s political situation and reforms have produced uncertainties and instability. Even as China’s new leadership (2017–2022) works to maintain economic growth at home while seeking a larger role on the global political stage, it is important to note that China is not yet a country ruled by law. China must solve its own problems, consisting of, but not limited to, corruption, abuses of power, human rights violations, and government mismanagement. These factors all delay China’s growth and impede improvement of the Sino-US relationship. If the Trump Administration works with Xi Jinping on developing shared political, social, and judicial objectives, it may succeed in drawing China further into the international system. China must live up to its international obligations and global standards of civil and human rights while it prepares to host President Trump on his state visit to Beijing in 2018.
Although East Asia faces many challenges, the interests of the region’s various states are becoming further integrated, and most countries have steadily achieved both economic transformation and social transition. As the global economic centre shifts toward East Asia and the Pacific, the stability and prosperity of this region are of great significance to maintaining world peace and development, as well as being in the best interests of all East Asian countries. We should treasure the favourable and hard-won environment and momentum for growth, establish a new concept of common security, and on the basis of mutual trust, work to build a new type of East Asian security relationship featuring mutual trust, cooperation, mutual benefit, democracy, and equality. The building of strategic mutual trust should be based on East Asia’s unique characteristics and its own rules of development, adhere to innovation, and actively learn from the experience of other regions. Then, based upon mutual trust, East Asian countries may develop their own security organization or mechanism in the Asia-Pacific to establish and maintain regional peace and stability. East Asian peoples have historically demonstrated the ability to grasp opportunities, join hands, forge ahead, and achieve sound and sustainable development.
Xiaobing Li
University of Central Oklahoma, Edmond, USA