Beneath all of the historical score-settling that is driving a
meteoric crash in relations between China and Japan there is a simple
reality: China is attempting to fill strategic space that the
US-Japanese alliance currently occupies.
Commentators have long written on the potentially explosive situation
that exists in East Asia. The region’s Cold War policeman- the
United States- is a hegemonic power in decline. Hence, it is a power
who’s material ability to police the region- let alone its will to-
is definitely in question. On the other side there’s China, a
regional power with global aspirations. Importantly, Beijing is also
beholden to the economic and nationalist needs of its people due to
the absence of any long-term political legitimacy of the ruling CCP.
Japan, and to a lesser extent Taiwan, stand in the middle as obvious
catalysts for conflict between the USA and China; though they are
allied with the declining hegemonic power, they are both sacred calves
of nationalist passions in a rising China.
For the full text, please visit www.geopoliticalmonitor.com
Monday 20 September 2010
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