1. INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS OF EAST ASIA
Prof. Antonio Fiori

3. Defining Asia Geographically Diversity of characteristics
Generalizations do not apply across the region
Five distinct subregions: Australasia, South East Asia, North East Asia, South Asia, Central Asia

4. The regional order in Asia today still bears many of the hallmarks that have characterized it for a several decades
A variety of new features have also appeared that are reshaping regional dynamics and creating a new regional order
:the American presence and alliance system, a “rising” China, an uncertain Japan, a divided Korea and China/Taiwan (and the existence of “security dilemmas” in each instance), an increasingly confident and coherent Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a mixture of political systems amid a general trend toward the growth of democracies, entrenched nationalism, dynamic economic growth, educated societies, and disciplined workforces. These characteristics continue to distinguish Asian international relations.
These include the rise of India and its regional
role; a reengaged Russia; the rebalancing of major power relations;
the growth of intraregional and extraregional multilateral institutions and
forums; increased intraregional interdependence in all spheres; the growing
impact of “soft power” in intercultural relations; the ascent of political and
radical Islam; the advent of terrorism; the rise of various “non-traditional”
security threats; the growing danger of a Taiwan independence movement
and separatist movements in China, India, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka; an increasingly
repressive Myanmar (Burma); and the increased military modernization
across the region. Thus, Asian international relations also reflect
these relatively new phenomena—all of which have added to their complexity
and diversity.

5. Asia by numbers 4.4 billion people live in Asia
Eight of the world’s fifteen most populated nations are in Asia (China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Japan, the Philippines, and Vietnam)
The world’s three largest Islamic nations are in Asia (Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh), with 640 million Muslims living across the region
Asia is home to many of the world’s major religions

6. Asia has four of the world’s eight societies with longest life expectancies (Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia), while none of the top twenty infant mortality rates are in Asia
Eight hundred million Asians (66 percent of the world’s poor) still live on less than $1 per day
Asian GDP per capita annual incomes range from a low of $260 in Cambodia to a high of $32,000 in Japan
Socially, while Asia remains poor various indicators indicate the transition that many societies are making from developing to newly industrialized country (NIC) status

7. China, India, and Japan rank in the top ten of Internet and mobile phone users
While Asia has modernized, and in so doing has been able to eradicate a number of chronic diseases, other public health problems have arisen
Asia has become the source of innovation and technological advances

8. Since the late 1980s, Asian economies have grown at the fastest rate in the world. Asia accounted for more than 35% of the world economy (GDP) in recent years
Ten of the thirty most competitive economies are in Asia
Asia has become the center of world trade, accounting for nearly one third of global trade volume
As trade has burgeoned, some nations in Asia have grown rich, very rich
In another notable trend, since the late 1990s, Asian nations do more trade with each other than outside the region

9. Asia’s economic growth has also been fueled by dramatically increased amounts of energy imports to the region
In terms of regional security, Asia accounted for five of the world’s ten largest standing armies in 2008 (China, India, North Korea, South Korea, Vietnam) and the world’s four largest surface navies (if the U.S. and Russian navies are included, along with China and Japan)

10. China and the other actors in the region
…North Korea
…Taiwan
…Japan
Nuclear threat
Strait Issue
Military Relation between Japan and USA

11. Chinese “New Security Concept”
Enunciated in the late ’90s
In the post-Cold War period nations are able to increase their security through diplomatic and economic interaction, the Cold War mentality of competing and antagonistic blocks is outdated. Around 2002 and 2003, this security policy seemed to merge with the foreign policy doctrine known as “China’s Peaceful Rise”
Has this concept been introduced in order to balance USA hegemony in the region?
Peaceful Rise: It seeks to characterize China as a responsible world leader, emphasizes soft power, and vows that China is committed to its own internal issues and improving the welfare of its own people before interfering with world affairs. The term suggests that China seeks to avoid unnecessary international confrontation.The term proved controversial because the word 'rise' could fuel perceptions that China is a threat to the established order, so since 2004 the term China's peaceful development.

12. Japan’s Role in the Region
After 1945:
Japan as USA stable ally
Marginal actor in the sphere of international politics, Japan has focused on economic growth
The intimate relation with the USA has allowed Japan to be considered as a Western power

13. Relations between China and Japan are focused on economic diplomacy
Tensions traditionally created because of North Korea
In the last few years Japan has distanced itself from the traditional “Yoshida Doctrine”, going toward a gradual rearmament

14. North Korea Centrality in the region
Massive militarization of the area
Relations with the USA since 1990s; with China…

15. “At the most basic level, United States objectives in East Asia have remained consistent over the last five decades: prevent the emergence of a regional hegemon; keep open the sea and air routes that transit the area; maintain commercial access to the economics of the region and the peace and stability that commerce requires; and preserve and strengthen security ties with allies and friends in the region.” (Marvin Ott, 2001)

16. When the Cold War came to a conclusion, many declared that the Pacific would replace Europe as an international political “priority” for the USA
And in fact, despite the bipolar structure of power, USA have formed alliances with many countries in the region
: Containment strategy aimed at eradicating communism from the region

17. Three main structural factors:
With the beginning of multipolarity, the American need to reaffirm its role in Asia is clear
Three main structural factors:
USA as international leaders (missionary character)
Self-perception of Pacific as a natural sphere of influence
Institutional dynamics of the American political system (competition among different actors on foreign policy)