Security
in East Asia. Is China a new hegemon?
Introduction
East Asia is one of the most
rapidly developing regions of the world. One fifth of the world population
lives here. Growing economies of China, South Korea, Taiwan, Philippines make
important impact into the world trade flows. Region is not homogeneous. China
is the biggest country, economic and military potential of which is becoming
more and more significant. Another important player is Japan. For several post
II World War decades it was the most developed country in the region, but due
to the post war set up it did not pursue its military policy. As the result of
the World War II the US presence in the regional security set up was dominant. The
US has a military alliance with Japan, bilateral security agreements with major
countries of the region, as well as significant military deployments in Asia
and Pacific. The security in the region in the second part of the 20th century
to the large extent was defined by the US interests, but recently with the rise
of China, the balance of powers seems to start shifting.
