Hedging and Geostrategic Balance of East Asian Countries toward China

Abstract

While most East Asian countries have opted for a hedge strategy to preserve a maximum range of strategic options in response to the rise of China, some countries have engaged in geostrategic balance through collective bargaining and strategic alignments with the US and with each other. The divergent threat perceptions and complicated historical animosities among East Asian countries, however, have set a limitation on the geostrategic balance. Therefore, to bandwagon with China could be a realistic choice for many countries. Historically, the most successful rising powers have been those which attracted the greatest number of bandwagoners. China cannot rise successfully without winning the support of its Asian neighbors. The long term peace and stability in the region, therefore, depends not only on whether China’s neighbors can work together to balance China but also whether China can balance its relationships in its own backyard so that its neighbors find bandwagoning a positive choice.