Japan has risen in stature to become an important player not only in the Western Pacific, but the wider Indo-Pacific. From a defeated nation that adopted a pacifist constitution and demilitarization, Japan has been provoked by unwelcomed external events to ensure its security. It has faced a challenging security environment and specific threats that have transformed its domestic politics and given rise to debates about the relevance of its pacifist constitution. North Korea’s nuclear and m...

China seeks geopolitical space in the Western Pacific . The spearhead of China's expansion is the navy which is now the world's largest with an expanding carrier force to enforce its maritime claims in the South China Sea and elsewhere. The geopolitical pivot for China is Southeast Asia. In view of China's constricted maritime geography, Southeast Asia is the one place that can provide access for its expanding navy allowing China to expand in different directions. Control of this region wo...

This edited volume examines the political and security issues influencing and shaping the developing maritime order in the Indo Pacific. If focuses specifically on the impact of China’s maritime expansion upon the policies and strategies of the regional states as well as the major players. The chapters examine the interaction of these players, paying particular attention to Japan, as the originator of the Indo Pacific idea and promoter of security cooperation and regionalism. It also cover...

This volume brings together international experts to provide fresh perspectives on geopolitical concerns in the South China Sea.The book considers the interests and security strategies of each of the nations with a claim to ownership and jurisdiction in the Sea. Examining contexts including the region’s natural resources and China’s behaviour, the book also assesses the motivations and approaches of other states in Asia and further afield.This is an accessible, even-handed ...

This book examines the development of China’s national ambitions under its current leader Xi Jinping and the dilemma they present for the United States and also Japan. It emphasises the importance of geopolitics, that is the way national strategies and policies are shaped and in some cases determined by geographic location. Focusing especially on China’s national rejuvenation and its rapidly growing military capability and navy, and on the likely impact on the region of China regaining the...

This book explores the very latest developments in the South China Sea maritime dispute. It examines the South China Sea as an arena for geostrategic competition between China and the United States and why the dispute is so important for regional and global geopolitics. It outlines the most recent developments in the sea itself and assesses the role of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the current views of the contesting claimants. It considers the position of countrie...

This book focuses on the activity of the Soviet Union in Southeast Asia and the effects of Soviet policy on the region from 1969 to the time of first publication in 1986. In particular, Leszek Buszynski examines the rivalry between the Soviet Union and China, Soviet presence in Vietnam, and the responsive efforts of surrounding regions towards collective security. U.S. policy in the region is a key consideration, particularly in terms of American attempts to placate China and encourage Jap...

First published in 1992, this book examines Soviet foreign policy towards Southeast Asia in the context of the transformation of the perestroĭka era in the Soviet Union. The discussion begins in 1985 and ends in 1989 with the Soviet partial withdrawal from Cam Ranh Bay. Buszynski considers Gorbachev’s effort to disengage from the Cambodian problem, the weakening of the Soviet alliance with Vietnam and the real effort to overcome old hostilities with growth areas in ASEAN such as T...

North Korea’s nuclear weapons program has provoked much apprehension in the international community in recent years. The Six Party Talks were convened in 2003 to prevent North Korea from developing nuclear weapons. They brought together the US, China, Russia, Japan as well as North and South Korea in the effort to negotiate a multilateral resolution of North Korea’s nuclear program but the parties had widely different views and approaches. This book will examine the Six Party Talks as a st...

The South China Sea is a major strategic waterway for trade and oil shipments to Japan, Korea as well as southern China. It has been the focus of a maritime dispute which has continued now for over six decades, with competing claims from China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia and Brunei. Recently China has become more assertive in pressing its claims – harassing Vietnamese fishing vessels and seizing reefs in the Philippine claim zone. China has insisted that it has "indisputable sover...

The main theme of this book is that security is not just about defence from external attack, but embraces the protection of identity and values which cultures regard as important, and which they may regard as worth fighting for. It examines Asia Pacific security from the perspective of the values and identities of the major actors in the region - C

Great Powers, Grand Strategies offers the analysis of a dozen experts on the “big picture” approaches to the South China Sea dispute. By exploring the international dimensions of this regional hotspot, Gordon Chang, Bernard Cole, James Fanell, Bill Hayton, and others examine how the military, diplomatic, and economic strategies of the major global actors have both contributed to solutions and exacerbated the potential for conflict. As editor of this volume, Anders Corr seeks to ju...