| bibo:abstract |
Bilateral Dimensions of Major Power Relations in Northeast Asia
Kook-Chin Kim
Introduction
In the post-Cold War era, in general, the decline of global ideological competition has
significantly decreased the level of regional tension and raised hopes for prospects of
resolving regional conflicts in Asia. But as the traditional superpower competition has
drastically waned in the region mainly because of the disintegration of the Soviet Union,
along with Washington's fiscal plight and massive cuts of defense budgets, the regional
powers, particularly China and Japan, appear apt to increasingly affect the balance of
power of the area.
Particularly in the strategic environment in Northeast Asia which constitutes a distinct
regional subsystem in the Asia and Pacific region wherein three nuclear powers, namely,
the U.S., Russia and China, and one economic super-power, Japan, are contending for
influence, there are considerable uncertainties, in the post-Cold War era, especially
regarding worrisome aspects such as China's continued pursuit of military
modernization, North Korea's drive to become an indigenous nuclear power, and
possibly Japan's resort to autonomous militarization.
Of course, the Russian and American military deployments in Northeast Asia remain
formidable, even though prospects for a direct superpower confrontation in that
tensions have drastically diminished. What is uncertain, however, is how the two
regional powers, Japan and China, let alone the two Koreas, would interact strategically
in the security environment in Northeast Asia which has emerged as one of the world's
most prosperous centers of economic development and trade. The extent to which
Northeast Asia could move toward a new regional security order placing emphasis on
collaboration over competition would hold the key to its future regional peace and
stability.
Given the shifting changes in the security environment of Northeast Asia in the postCold
War era, it can be safely said that Northeast Asia's security context has largely
shifted from management of superpower competition in the region to more emphasis on
identifying and reconciling sources of hightened intra-regional competition. Against this backdrop, as part of the efforts to examine the changing security situation
in Northeast Asia in the post-Cold War world as such, this paper aims at dealing with
the major power relations in the region, namely, those between and among the U.S.,
Japan, China and Russia.
More specifically, this paper will address such research concerns as : (1) considering
the basic nature or contours of the major power relationships in Northeast Asia other
than those on the Korean peninsula; (2) identifying the sources of tensions in their
relationships as well as the reconciling factors conducive to producing mutual restraints
and thus promoting stability between and among major powers in the region in the
decade ahead; and finally, (3) examining some issue-areas germane to the policy
agenda for peace and security in major power relations in Northeast Asia, as befits a
regional cooperative security regime.
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