Building a Security Community in Asia-Pacific Region: Can China Contribute?

ABSTRACT

The Asia-Pacific has seen the emergence of a new security dilemma, as geopolitical friction increases due to escalating crises. Significant tensions between China and many of its Asian neighbors have arisen due to maritime disputes, the North Korea nuclear crisis, and a military arms race. There are three main areas of the common security challenges in the Asia and Pacific region today: Chinese military growth, the U.S. military dominance and strategic “rebalance,” and conflicts or hot spots in the region. The future way out of the Asia-Pacific's current security dilemma depends heavily on how the U.S., China, and Japan can work together. This paper seeks to examine three issues: 1) the logic of China's military growth and how serious a threat it has posed to other countries in the region; 2) the major barriers that hold back military exchange programs between China and the U.S.; and 3) the intervening factor, the strengthening of a U.S.-Japan alliance and its repercussions for China. It will provide proposals to establish a collective framework including more specific security dialogues and cooperation in this region.

KEYWORDS:

• Asia-Pacific Security
• North Korea
• security cooperation
• U.S.-China relations
• U.S.-Japan relations

Notes

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Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sun Zhe

Sun Zhe is currently an adjunct senior research scholar and co-director of China Initiative at School of International and Public Affairs of Columbia University. He was the Director of the Center for U.S.-China Relations at Tsinghua University in Beijing and has previously taught at Fudan University and Ramapo College of New Jersey. He is a graduate of Fudan University and has a Ph.D in Political Science from Columbia University.