Variables Affecting Regional Balance in East Asia
Hussein I. Rahman, Ali Hussein Alesami, Ali H. Bader
Despite its strategic importance economically, militarily and geographically, East Asia is a region riddled with regional and international tensions and conflicts that have posed a range of transnational regional and international challenges that have affected the region's security stability. Conflicts in the region have included conflicts over regional sovereignty and the continued threat of use of weapons of mass destruction, affecting the nature of regional balances in East Asia. Regional conglomerates are attempting to strengthen cooperation mechanisms to maintain regional stability in the region and to balance China's aspirations to dominate the East Asian region through enhanced trade and bilateral and collective dialogue, which are critical to overcoming the dual constraints in the region and increasing economic development there, similar to ASEAN. Variables in the regional arena have significantly affected East Asia's equilibrium, threatening the security environment in the region and prompting the United States to play a greater role in balancing China's expansion in East Asia.
Keywords: Taiwan Crisis, Maritime Conflicts, Strategic Importance South China Sea, East Asia, Korean Peninsula, China and Japan
