Introduction
The Asia Pacific region boasts a diversity of economic, cultural, and political traditions that are continually being battered by a myriad of forces- leading to significant struggles in transitions. The region is dynamically undergoing changes social and economic spheres, with such matters exacerbating and worsening challenges to inter-state and security in the Asia-Pacific. The issue of security and politics in the Pacific Asia spans the whole region, ranging from the dialogue stalemate between the two Koreas to hope that there may be a lasting solution to the plagues facing Indonesia.[1] Debates are raging over the underlying problems such as localized conflicts, the role of multilateral institutions and guiding principles on international order that are to be used. Today, the region is faced with critical political and security issues ranging from the South China sea, the increasing capability of the North Korean nuclear arsenal, transnational crime, diseases, and resource security. These issues cannot be understood alone, and are therefore compounded with other factors such as the rise of democratic institutions, nationalism, and history.[2]
Chapter 4-The United States: Regional Strategies and Global Commitments
The United States is a preponderant power in the Asia-Pacific region and the world in general and is highly likely to continue being so in the long-term. Questions arise as to what extent is the United States willing to exercise this power, and to what end. Paradoxically, the ability of the United States to influence the tilt of power and outcomes continues to diminish despite it having an overwhelmingly large power than any other nation in the world. The relations between the governments of the Asia-Pacific region governments and the United States depend on the willingness of Washington to accept that its influence in the region has limits- a key factor.[3] The power of the governments in the regions are continually being eroded by globalization- with external governments having an increasing role in the decision-making of these governments. Then, the future of these governments is dependent on their ability to exploit globalization in their decision making rather than be squandered by it. Also, these governments should be willing to accept, accommodate and put into positive use the new political pressures created by the underlying issue of globalization.[4]
William in this chapter acknowledges that the security planning of the regions has metamorphosed to accommodate the rising spectrum of threats. The primary risk is the uncertainty pattern of a military, political, and economic multipolarity that has shifted the conflictual side of the Status Quo Redux environment of security and diverging opinions on the proper distribution of power.[5] There exist no alternative to internal coordination, collaboration, and cooperation; these governments must put their efforts together to combat the transitional security challenges. The region needs to develop its security architecture citing the diversity of the people; relying on imported solutions such as Asia-pacific NATO will not adequately address the security issue.[6] Successful security mechanism must respect the diversity of the people and incorporate the conflict resolving way of the Asian people. A geographical analysis of the region reveals little to no prospect of an escalation of hostilities, but still, in the long-term, it is a ground for concern. There also exists a gap between hope in the institutions of the region and the recorded performance.
The United States’ centered network of bilateral security alliances in the region undergirds security in the geopolitical area, and the continued presence of the United States is vital to the stability and security of the Asia-Pacific. The U.S. over the past decade has successfully managed to eliminate its doubts and skepticism of its dedication and commitment toward the region- real change- although now doubts have been cast over the continued need for the presence of a forward deployed United States military.
Chapter 5- A Rising China and American Perturbations
William addressees the issue of a growing Chinese regional power in the Asia-Pacific, tilting the scales of politics in the area. The emerging China is continuously challenging the order in the Asia-Pacific region, with the Chinese people maintaining that the position of their country is in most instances misunderstood.[7] The rise of China’s military, they argue, is mistaken as the country’s focus in the short and midterm are on modernization and development. Admittedly, the rise of China is straining the existing government relations and political structures- increasing conflicts have increased the odds of a military war. The cold war in the Asia-Pacific region is driven by a worsening China-U.S. economic and strategic rivalry.[8] In the recent years, geopolitical tensions in Asia have been centered on maritime disputes between Vietnam and china, on the Asian hot waters at the South China Sea and the Philippines-Japan tensions that have all emerged in the backdrop of a U.S.-Chinese cold war. Fundamentally, Asia’s geopolitical disputes reside in how lowly the linguistic and cultural diversity of the people have been wrongly identified and unresolved territorial boundary wars that have historically fueled animosities.[9]
The rising China is an issue that needs to be addressed. Analysts argue that the large country is in the middle of reassessing its patient and peaceful approach that has been in place for decades.[10] The country is embracing an assertive, aggressive and economic and military magnate stance, combined with a visible display of nationalism make the country more difficult to manage when it comes to matters of the south and east China seas as it will be more lined to defending its interests through the military. It will not only depend on the willingness of the United States to commit itself to a rebalance shortly but also the willingness of neighbors such as Australia to get involved in the local matters[11].
The islands in the Pacific are points of discussion too. Some of the problems facing the islands include instability and political fragmentation; appearing to be uniquely vulnerable to global challenges such as money laundering and global warming.[12] Compounded to these problems are that these island countries are geographically small, having little to no voice in the region, let alone on the world stage.[13]
Regional Institutions
The rolling out of a multilayered security architecture in the Asia-Pacific region will be pivotal in compensating for the incompetence of the institutions of the region- allowing them to meet the high expectations that the people and the world have invested in them. Another critical issue to be addressed in Asian Pacific region is the question of striking a balance between humanitarian interventions and the sovereignty of countries. The orderliness that the ASEAN organization is aiming at is plagued by an acute problem of attachment of the noninterference in the internal affairs of the member states to the doctrine since its formation.[14] Notably, there exist a movement away from the principle of complete noninterference, independence, dominion, and sovereignty, nevertheless the need for patience being stressed here. The governments of the region must be allowed to make progress and move forward at a pace that they are comfortable with; propping up such would be detrimental.
The Role of Regional Partners
The threat posed by North Korea can be dismissed if China to be a stark geopolitical rival to the United States. Analysts in Australia, Asia-pacific region, and the US see this as a mistake.[15] War is a possibility if the conflict in the Korean peninsula is not deterred. Recent provocations such as the successful launching of the Unha-3 rocket and a third nuclear test underline that further defense and deterrence cannot be substituted. Critical analyzing of the situation will reveal that attention should be shifted further to ensuring better readiness through counter-provocation strategies. Australia and the United States Alliance view is that peace and regional stability can be achieved if the North Korean issue is carefully managed. Any political will, if any, would be focused on peace deals to replace the 1953 armistice that the DPRK has continually declared null.[16] Local partners, such as Australia will be key either because of their seat in the United Nations or as a partner in drawing future strategies.
Allies of the United States in the region should not forget that conflicts will be averted if an overriding political objective that is made of rules, supports democratic freedom and free and fair trade and clear dispute resolving rules is put in place. The system would essentially establish a cooperative framework for the commerce of China that will be based on cooperation on global issues (such as global warming) and real reciprocity.[17] A dynamic equilibrium capable of accommodating power shifts and other significant international changes will enable the United States to perpetuate its influence in the region for decades to come in conjunction to nudging forward a security architecture that supports all the dimensions of freedom: across air, maritime, the outer space, cyber, open and fair trade and other global commons such as democratic institutions that are the backbone in adequately protecting the liberty of the people in the region.
The Asia Pacific region needs the two largest powers in the region (US and China) to have transparency, confidence building measures, realism, and restraint to achieve and secure peace. As a good beginning, the hot waters of the south china sea would be acknowledged as part sovereign territorial waters and part global waters. Of note is that there will rise different governmental interpretations of the matter, but then the acknowledgment would lay a solid foundation in moving toward the greater good of the region. In the foreseeable future, issues of naval ships passing innocently through exclusive economic and territorial waters should not be settled, but rather managed.[18] Transparency, dialogues, trust-building measures, and informal rules would be pivotal in accommodating the strong America and the rising China.
Conclusion
In summary, the two chapters focus on the opposing forces of globalization and nationalism that are the fuel lighting the deep regional acrimony bonfire between countries that are otherwise interconnected by food (especially rice and sea fish) supply webs and chains. Continued cooperation is constrained by political and economic rivalry. The formation of collective security, socioeconomic, political and economic community in the regional will be vital in forming stronger and efficient political systems. America’s priorities in addressing its problems within the region will have to be overridden. The country will have to put more of its population back to work to offset the dwindling economy or else there will be more trade-offs regarding budgeting and spending, including the defense that will be harder to sustain than they are now. Active participation of security and political details from allies such as Australia, Korea and Japan and India should be encouraged. The budget constraints that the United States is experiencing should alone be enough to motivate it to consider shifting security burdens into partners in the Asia-Pacific region rather than allowing them to grow their economies by free riding on the United States.
Bibliography
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Crocombe, R. G. Asia in the Pacific Islands: Replacing the West. Suva, Fiji: IPS Publications, University of the South Pacific, 2007.
Keeves, John P., and Ryo Watanabe. International Handbook of Educational Research in the Asia-Pacific Region. Dordrecht, the Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2003.
Tow, William T. Security Politics in the Asia-Pacific: A Regional-Global Nexus? Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2009.
Zhu, Zhiqun. Globalization, Development and Security in Asia. New Jersey, NJ: World Scientific, 2014.
[1] John P. Keeves and Ryo Watanabe, International Handbook of Educational Research in the Asia-Pacific Region (Dordrecht, the Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2003), 1126.
[2] Keeves and Watanabe, 1127
[3] Zhiqun Zhu, Globalization, development and security in Asia (New Jersey, NJ: World Scientific, 2014), 49.
[4] Zhu, Globalization, development, and security Asia, 115.
[5] William T Tow, Security Politics in the Asia-Pacific: A Regional-Global Nexus? (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2009), 68-72
[6] William T Tow, Security Politics in the Asia-Pacific: A Regional-Global Nexus? (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2009), 68-72.
[7] Tow, 85
[8] Tow, 85
[9] Tow, 86.
[10] Tow, 87
[11] Tow, 89.
[12] R. G. Crocombe, Asia in the Pacific Islands: Replacing the West. (Suva, Fiji: IPS Publications, University of the South Pacific, 2007), 493-494
[13] R. G. Crocombe, Asia in the Pacific Islands: Replacing the West. (Suva, Fiji: IPS Publications, University of the South Pacific, 2007), 493-494.
[14] Sanchita Basu Das et al. The ASEAN economic community: a work in progress. (Singapore: ISEAS Publishing, 2013), 43.
[15] Crocombe, 494
[16] Crocombe, 494
[17] William T Tow, Security Politics in the Asia-Pacific: A Regional-Global Nexus? (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2009), 86.
[18] Zhiqun Zhu, Globalization, development and security in Asia (New Jersey, NJ: World Scientific, 2014), 50
