International Relations Of The Asia-Pacific - Research Paper Example

International Relations Of The Asia-Pacific How are Asia–Pacific states responding to the rise of China? Discuss with reference to the experience of two of the states we have focused on this trimester (e.g. Japan, Korea, and Indonesia). What does this tell us about the international relations of the Asia–Pacific region? Reactions of Asian States to the rise of China China has risen economically in the recent past. It has become an economical power to reckon with in the Asian community. The rise of China has changed the economical picture of Asia in several ways. In addition, its rise has affected the Asian pacific relations. China’s rise has affected the security policy of its neighbors. It is worth noting that Japan has held the position of the second leading economy for some time. The rise of china to overtake Japan in the Asian and global view does not become easy for Japan. Since economic success leads to increased military spending, the Asian countries are afraid of China’s new position. Although maintaining a good relation with China for trade benefits is essential, it does not come with ease for the Asian countries. In addition, the Japanese-American relationship affects the opinion of Japan towards the advancing China. This paper will address the reaction of the Asian states to China’s rise. In addition, the paper will also highlight the status of Taiwan and seek to distinguish whether it is independent or part of China. China’s economy has surprised the world in the last three decades with the country registering a gross domestic product of about 8%. Its economy has tripled in that period. This growth has placed China second in the global economic giants. Prospects in the future indicate that it is likely to take the lead in the world if its growth progresses at the same rate. Its rise has resulted from the implementation of reforms in all sectors of its economy. There was a remarkable shift from farming to indulgence in household activities. In addition, it opened up its markets to the entire globe and allowed private owners to have over majority of state-owned enterprises. Japan’s reaction to the rise of China has depended on several factors. Japan has had a continued relationship with the United States for a long time. The relationship focuses on trade patterns majorly but has affected the democracy of Japan in the post-war period (McDougall, 2007:104). Due to the existing relationship, Japan used to export a great deal of its products to U.S. However, the emergence of China has changed the entire picture. Japan is shifting part of its exports to China. Since 2007, the two neighbors Japan and China have been closer trade partners than before. There is a remarkable shift in the amount Japan exports to China since then. Since prospects into China’s future imply that the country is likely to register higher economic growth, Japan has sought to establish a closer business relationship for its future as well. For Japan, the shift of trade to Asia becomes more favorable than a centre in the west. However, Japan has its fears in the China relationship. Since China operates under capitalism that gives it an authority in the region, Japan becomes cautious of the games China is likely to play in the region. China’s rise has led to a change in the geo-political picture in the Asian community. China is in a position to increase its spending in the military force. This increase in defense expenditure poses a cause of concern for Japan. In several instances, China’s military sectors have interfered with Japan’s territory. This increases Japan’s fear of what the future may hold. The change in the military power of China has prompts Japan to strategize on the future of its military. Japan’ response strategies have been on the organizational level. Due to its current slow growth, Japan cannot increase military spending. It has to contend with a more strategic reorganization of it s forces to combat the rising Chinese naval pressure. In addition, Japan has ventured into forming military cooperation with Korea and Australia to form a stronger union that has the potential of standing against China. It is evident that Japan views the China as a threat to the security because Japanese authorities cannot discern the prompts that move China to increase its military spending. China on the other hand asserts that it promotes international and regional peace (McDougall, 2007:57). The reaction of Japan highly depends on its relationship with the United States. America has been a powerful contributor in the Asia-pacific relations. In addition, it has been an abounding economic power exercising control in the region. Any changes that affect Japan bring America into the bigger picture. Although Japan makes advances to cope with the Chinese rising levels, it relies on the confidence of its relationship with the United States in finding solutions especially in the military department. Japan has indulged actively in talks with the United States concerning defense. It is evident that Japan presents mixed feeling towards the rise of China. Japanese leaders claim that the rise presents an opportunity for Japan in terms of economic issues and trade. However, it is apparent that China’s increasing military potential poses a threat to Japan. In addition, Japan fears for a cultural influence from China. Japan has stuck to homogeneity and does not present any signs of compromise. China and Japan have varying social set-ups and there is an appreciation of the differences than the similarities. It is likely that in the future, Japan will project reactions that are more definite. However, that will depend on the progression of the Japanese-American relationship. Korea is another country in the Asian community that has felt the effects of the economic rise of China. Since china was not an issue of priority in the national agendas of South Korea, its rise brought reactions quite different from the Japanese case. Korea did not view China as a threat but rather a partner (McDougall, 2007:192). Korea felt that rising China was in a position to influence the standing of Korea positively. Korea realized that it could reap benefits from effective diplomacy with China. Therefore, it has been working towards building a peaceful relationship with China. On a different note, Korea had the feeling that the rising of China could put it in a good position to strike a balance in the exertion of the United States and Japanese influence in the region. This highlights the fact that the U.S-Japan influence in Asian-pacific in the region was enormous. The rising of China was likely to change the Asian-pacific picture in several ways. This explains why Korea has a different perspective to the rise of China. Consequently, many Koreans feel that the Korean government should build a stronger relationship with China rather than the United States. However, this was Korea’s initial reaction (McDougall, 2007:192). However, the Korean government realized that the rising of the Chinese government had the potential of disrupting the security system in the Asian-pacific region. This was a cause of concern for Korea because it had to adapt the new system in the region with China as the dominating factor. It is worth noting that the trends of opinion on the rising of China have been taking a different course in Korea. Since China gains dominance in the region, Korea definitely feels the presence of threat. From the analysis of three cases above, it is evident that Asian countries have viewed the rising of China with mixed feelings. Japan seems most affected by China’s rise because of its previous economical position. Despite the shift of trade to Asia, Japan still presents anti-china attitudes. Japan feels that China has the potential of playing geo-political games that will change the scenario of East Asia further. The emergence of China has affected the Japan-United States policy forcing the two countries to restrategize its dominance protocol in the region. Korea feels uncertain about the rise of China and its implications in the global scene and in the region. Although the countries realize the potential benefits of having trade relations with China, they are not at complete ease with China’s emerging dominance in the region. All Asian states realize that the security policies in the region are subject to change because of China’s investment in the military forces. Although China claims that it promotes a peaceful rise, the neighboring countries feel threatened. It is worth noting that China has not portrayed any signs of attacking the neighboring territories despite its entry into the Japanese territory. The unease with which Asian states are reacting to the rise of China is because of the miraculous emergence of China and the indications of future prospects. The rise of China has affected the United State’s power to exert influence in the Asian region. China’s success story has created a new picture of the Asian-pacific relations. Although each country has its specific fears, there is a similar cause of fear that China’s dominance will change the security policies in the region. In addition, it is likely to limit the influence of the west and the United States in the region. With future prospects indicating that it may rise to the world’s leading economy despite its large population, more reactions are likely to surface. Whatever happens to China in the future will prompt a reaction from its Asian neighbors. Question 2: Does Taiwan have a legitimate case for independence, or is the island part of China? What principles underlie these competing positions? The Status of Taiwan There is an extensive controversy concerning the destiny of Taiwan. The controversy of the Taiwan issues began in 1949 after the winning of victory in a democratic revolution. This led to the emergence of the people’s republic of China (PRC). However, during this time, some people moved from mainland China to Taiwan. This movement resulted due to a Chinese civil war. Since then, Taiwan has grown and demands independence as the republic of China. However, the PRC asserts that Taiwan is not subject to independence and looks forward to the reunification of Taiwan and mainland China (McDougall, 2007:165). The one-China principle has come into existence to try to explain the PRC’s struggle to achieve unification with Taiwan. According to this principle, alienation of Taiwan from china is impossible. The PRC government claims that it has the right to rule Taiwan as part of its territory. The Chinese government welcomes initiation of dialogues concerning the island and its territory. However, China asserts that the one-China principle remains and any dialogue should have that as the basis. In essence, the PRC government believes it is the only China and that Taiwan is PRC’s territory. According to Taiwan leaders, Taiwan deserves recognition as an independent state. Taiwan leaders plead for recognition as the Republic of China. These leaders argue that the territory is currently not subject to the rule of PRC. However, PRC claims that after the declaration of the central PRC government in 1949, the republic of china ceased to exist and that PRC is the only legal government. PRC claims that the Taiwan controversy is the result of an unresolved civil. China declares its commitment to fight for the unity of its motherland (McDougall, 2007:169). This is the voice of the people and government of China. The one-china claim leads to criticisms of the Taiwan leaders by the Chinese government. Despite demands by Taiwan leaders to declare it an independent state, it has operated without the official recognition. The United Nations rejected Taiwan as an independent entry despite its continuous requests for acceptance. Taiwan has several representative offices in several countries since it cannot have formal embassy representations. Majority of international organizations and other countries support China that Taiwan is under PRC ruler ship. However, due to the potential of the issue to create complexities in Asian-pacific relations, most of the nations avoid giving definite conclusions on the issue. Analysis of Taiwan’s qualifications as an independent state is essential in understanding its case. There are eight universally accepted criteria applied in determining whether a territory qualifies to exist as an independent entry. One of these includes the presence of defined and recognized boundaries of the territory. Although disputes concerning boundaries may exist, the Taiwan case becomes complicated under this criterion because majority of the nations recognize Taiwan as part of the PRC government. A second criterion considers whether the territory has a permanent population residing in it. Taiwan is home to more that 23 million people. Its population proves larger than some populations in the world. The third criterion examines whether the territory has an established economic system. In the Taiwan case, the territory has a functioning economic system and posts high growth placing the territory among the economic leaders in South East Asia (McDougall, 2007:172). In addition, it ranks among the top thirty economies of the globe. Taiwan has proved its ability to regulate trade both internally and externally. Moreover, the territory issues the Taiwan dollar as its unique currency. The fourth criterion seeks to establish whether the territory has the potential to establish a system of social engineering. Taiwan has managed to establish a functioning and efficient education system. It has in place more than 150 higher education institutions. In addition, it owns a museum with multiple artworks. The fifth criterion seeks to establish whether a territory has a transport system that facilitates movement of people and goods. Taiwan gets a credit for this because it has a network of internal and external transport. It has rails, roads, highways, pipelines, and railroads. In addition, there are several airports and seaports. All these networks keep Taiwan connected to the external world. Therefore, there is a flow of goods and people. The fifth criterion establishes whether the territory has a form of government in place. Taiwan has its government in place. The government is in a capacity to provide the people with the necessary public services. In addition, the Taiwan government has a military force in place. The military force has several branches and these include army, air force, navy, armed reserve command, armed forces police command and combined service forces command. In order to sustain the military force, the Taiwan dedicates about 17% of its budget on the military. The one-china principle disqualifies Taiwan from qualifying as an independent state according to the seventh criterion. This criterion demands that the territory requesting for independence must have a level of sovereignty such that there is no other state that can exercise power over it. The fact that China asserts that it should legally rule Taiwan; it does not qualify in this criterion. On a different note, Taiwan does not qualify in the eighth criterion as well. This criterion demands a majority vote of other nations to the list of independent states. Apparently, Taiwan lacks this vote because majority of the other states regard it as part of China (McDougall, 2007:173). Out of the possible eight criteria used to determine whether a territory qualifies to exist independently, Taiwan scores only five. The issues tying it to China disqualify it from independence. For Taiwan to exist independently, it will have to resolve its issues with mainland China. However, China has already made its stand clear that there is only ‘one china’ in existence and that ‘two Chinas’ cannot coexist. For China, Taiwan should consider reuniting with PRC that is the central government. The issue has affected international relations in the region. China backs its argument with the fact that there is lack of evidence of any treaty signed by Taiwan and China granting Taiwan its independence. Taiwan bases its argument on the fact that it qualifies with a majority of the total requirements of becoming an independent state. The issue complicates diplomatic efforts in the Asian-pacific region (McDougall, 2007:224). When countries sign treaties and agreements with China, Taiwan’s adoption of such agreements becomes an issue worth a debate. Some nations opt to negotiate with Taiwan as an independent entity. China does not allow Taiwan to exercise the freedom and privileges of an independent state. Taiwan results to managing its relations through representative offices in several countries. Most of the other states opt to remain neutral on the issue of Taiwan. In reference to the state of Taiwan, they use descriptive words that do not reveal their real stand. For more than sixty years, China has been struggling to reunite Taiwan with mainland China. It is not evident when the problem will reach a final solution. It is impossible to make future prospects into the future because the Taiwan and Chinese leaders hold varying opinions. It is unclear whether Taiwan will ever achieve a state of independence. The status of China as a global economic power earns it the favor from other countries. Through Chinese influence, Taiwan’s requests of consideration by the United Nations always fail. From the analysis of the Taiwan case, and the issues that surround it, it becomes obvious that now, Taiwan is still part of China. Although it exists in a quasi-independent state, Taiwan must solve its issues with China. There is need for efforts from both sides to resolve the issue. However, it is likely that China’s current potential to manipulate trends in the region will contribute greatly in the issue. Taiwan may need patience before the issue reaches a conclusion. Unless China changes its stand concerning the one-China principle, Taiwan is likely to lose. A loss will imply that the island will reintegrate back to the mainland. The position of China currently after its rise places it to exert influence on most of the trends and security policies in the Asian-pacific region. Its rise has changed the entire scene of international relations. In the Taiwan case, china holds onto the fact that the controversy with Taiwan is purely a civil case. According to the central government then, it has the right to claim and exercise control of the Taiwan region. Under the prevailing controversy and with the military threats posed to Taiwan by China, Taiwan cannot acquire recognition as a sovereign society. Despite Taiwan’s arguments that it qualifies with a majority of requirements to exist independently, the future is not clear. In addition, China stands a better position to earn the support of other nations who term Taiwan as part of China. A critical analysis reveals that Taiwan is still subject to rule by the PRC government. The issue still poses a challenge for diplomats in the region who easily confuse the status of the Taiwan territory. Until the civil war eventually reaches a conclusion, Taiwan is part of China. Bibliography McDougall, D. 2007. Asia Pacific in world politics. Boulder, Colo. [u.a.], Rienner. Read More