Session 3
Regional Security and Crisis Management in Asia
The traditional nation-state system has undergone major transformation since the Peace of Westphalia. Globalization and major progress in transportation and information and communication technologies have made national borders more porous and enabled non-state actors to play much more significant roles in the world today. The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, were one such example. Security threats in the post-Cold War era increasingly come from non-state actors such as terrorist networks or weak or failed states that breed and harbor terrorism, rather than from strong nation-states with great military and industrial capabilities. U.S. foreign policy, which has oscillated between realpolitik and an idealistic approach as well as between unilateralism and international policy coordination, now tilts toward a unilateral inclination with a stronger emphasis on democratic values, as was manifested by the recent war against Iraq. The deep sense of insecurity created by 9.11 caused this shift and will remain in place and inform U.S. foreign policy for the time being; although it is far from permanent.
Asia, with its Cold War legacies such as the division in the Korean Peninsula and the Cross-Strait Relations, faces uniquely complex situations in this new reality. While the U.S. unilateral inclination has so far not been prominent in Asia, as seen in its handling of the North Korean nuclear crisis, Asian capitals are worried about the possibility of accidental war, caused by extreme circumstances and with destructive consequences, arising from relations between the U.S. and Asia, as well as those among Asian capitals. Furthermore, there has been increased collaboration by Japan with more assertive U.S. operations, such as the deployment of an Aegis destroyer in the Indian Ocean or the dispatch of Self-Defense Force troops to Iraq. The North Korean situation made Japanese people much more keenly aware of the security threat that exists to Japan, which is the basis for greater acceptance of increased national defense capabilities. Without conscious efforts by Japan to gain the trust of its neighbors, these developments could raise concerns among some Asian capitals about Japan's increased political-security role in the region. These new twists complicate existing relations among nation-states in the region.
Under these circumstances, the following issues are of crucial relevance to the maintenance of regional stability:
- What are the characteristics of a new world order that can deal with the increasing influence of non-state actors?
- Is the U.S. policy shift toward unilateral inclination temporary or permanent? What is the nature and motivation behind the shift? What are its implications for Asia?
- How can security-related U.S. national interests within Asia and the interests of the region be balanced? What would be the role of international institutions, in particular the United Nations? How can Asia develop its own capability to resolve security crises?
