Defensive Approaches in the Asia-Pacific

Abstract

Since the Cold War’s end, the Asia-Pacific has become an increasingly significant area in terms of politics, strategy, and economics.¹ This chapter examines the viability of defensive concepts in the Asia-Pacific region since 1989, focusing on the security debate and highlighting the extent to which several of the region’s countries have pursued policies manifesting strong defensive elements. The security debate concerning this region has included some defensive advocacy and . as with previous cases . the unacknowledged application of defensive norms and assumptions. However, the attention that defensive advocates have paid to the possibility of applying their ideas to the Asia-Pacific has been comparatively minor, and the number of regionally based advocates has been small.²