Interactive Naval Developments of Three Northeast Asian States

Abstract

This article discusses the dynamics of naval developments by three Northeast Asian states and how this might affect regional stability. It argues that China's naval force modernization cannot be adequately explained without looking at its regional context. It notes further that China's modernization programme is a response to the more advanced arms modernizations being implemented by its two neighbours, Taiwan and Japan. The article concludes by arguing that China's build-up of its naval and air forces is occurring within an emerging arms race in Northeast Asia. Unlike Europe, the Asia-Pacific in the post-Cold War era faces a regional security environment characterized by uncertainty and complexity. Instead of experiencing a general decline in both inter-state political tension and arms build-up like Europe, local rivalries and new evolving power balances in the Asia-Pacific are coming out into the open, given the removal of superpower restraints imposed during the Cold War. The local origins of these regional conflicts and power balances were tangential to the Cold War, and thus the termination of the Cold War has made little impact on them. Furthermore, the lowering of superpower concern and engagement in the Asia-Pacific has given more leverage to local powers to reshape the geopolitical environment of their region.1 In the face of this uncertain security environment, regional states are acquiring a broad range of modern military systems which are trans forming their strike capabilities.2 The level of the arms build-up may not be as intense as in Europe during the Cold War, and no state has yet acquired the capability to impose its military hegemony. But there are