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It Takes Two to Tango: The Conflict as Japan Sees It

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Abstract

Since the end of the cold war, the power configuration in East Asia has fundamentally altered. Gone are the United States-led structure of containing the People’s Republic of China, the distractive influence of the Soviet Union, and the old problems besetting regionalism in Southeast Asia. Although a new order has not yet crystallized, the declining American presence in the region invariably leads to a high expectation for the roles of the two Asian great powers, Japan and China, both of which account for nearly three-quarters of the region’s economic activity and more than half of the region’s military spending. Many studies have been published in recent years (Drysdale and Zhang 2001; Mori 2004; Jin 2004); they examine the nature of the relationship by posing fundamental questions: Is China a threat? Is Japan reliable? Are China and Japan seeking hegemony and thus bound to compete in East Asia? Can they harmonize their foreign policies regardless of their economic and political differences?

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James C. Hsiung

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© 2007 James C. Hsiung

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Sudo, S. (2007). It Takes Two to Tango: The Conflict as Japan Sees It. In: Hsiung, J.C. (eds) China and Japan at Odds. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230607118_3

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