 Weekend Roundup: The New China Faces The 'New Japanese' A furious war of words was unleashed at the Shangri-La Dialogue security conference in Singapore last weekend. The U.S. and Japan accused China of trying to change the status quo by coercion and intimidation; the Chinese accused Japan and the U.S. of inciting instability with its "20th century mentality" of war and conflict. Following up on his comments in Singapore, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe writes in The WorldPost that China ought to abide by the rule of law in the seas of Asia and calls for negotiations. Recalling the experience of World War II, Shanghai scholar/entrepreneur Eric X. Li mocks Abe's pledge in Singapore that the "new Japanese" will help their neighbors resist Beijing. The great danger now, writes the Australian scholar Hugh White, is that the ground is being laid for a catastrophic clash since both sides in this conflict assume incorrectly that the other will back down. South Korea's Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se fears a "Pandora's box" is being opened in Asia. Marking the 25 years since the Tiananmen massacre, China scholar Perry Link worries that Xi Jinping is becoming "a Mao-like strongman." | | | Bina Shah: South Asia Is Waging An Undeclared War Against Women It's a more important war than the one against terrorism being fought so desperately in Pakistan and Afghanistan. It's a more pressing issue than whether or not Pakistan and India will enter into a nuclear race, or whether Pakistan's nuclear bombs can be kept secure. It is the major issue in the region, which, if left unresolved, will result in greater instability throughout the region. Shashi Tharoor: How Narendra Modi May Have Evolved Into 'Modi 2.0' To almost everyone's surprise, in the couple of weeks since his election, Modi has been conciliatory and inclusive in both his pronouncements and his actions. I was a beneficiary of this unexpected generosity on the very day of his victory, when I received a startling tweet of congratulations from him on my own victory in my constituency. "Let us work together to move India forward," he declared in his message to me. This tweet to a prominent adversary, with whom he had crossed swords in the past, was one of many signals to the nation that he was putting old enmities behind him. | |
|  | Shinzo Abe: Japan And China Should Sit Down At The Negotiating Table The Asia-Pacific region has achieved tremendous growth in the span of a single generation. Regrettably, a large and relatively disproportionate share of the fruits of that growth is going toward military expansion. The sources of instability include not only the threat of weapons of mass destruction, but also -- and more immediately -- efforts to alter the territorial status quo through force or coercion. And those efforts are taking place largely at sea. We do not welcome dangerous encounters by fighter aircraft and vessels at sea. What Japan and China must exchange are words. Should we not meet at the negotiating table, exchange smiles and handshakes, and get down to talking? |
|  | Hugh White: Why China And America Are Headed Toward A Catastrophic Clash Both Washington and China are steadily upping the stakes in their rivalry as China's provocations of U.S. friends and allies become more flagrant and America's commitments to support them become more categorical. Both believe they can do this with impunity because both believe the other will back down to avoid a clash. There is a disconcertingly high chance that they are both wrong. Asia today therefore carries the seeds of a truly catastrophic episode of mutual misperception. |
|  | H.E. Yun Byung-se: A Pandora's Box Is Opening Up In East Asia Today, Asia once again faces a historical challenge. It is standing at the crossroads between progress and retrogression. Why and how have we come this far? Partly, this is accounted for by the new and divergent outlook for the regional order -- a rising China, a resurgent Japan, strong Russia, anachronistic North Korea obsessed with the pursuit of nuclear weapons, and the United States who is rebalancing to Asia. It looks like the "Pandora's Box" is being opened, with all sorts of problems -- both old and new -- popping up, complicating the already very complex situation. Any of these developments, if mishandled or left unchecked, could escalate into a much more serious situation with far reaching consequences for the region. |
|  | Eric X. Li: Abe's 'New Japanese' Want Their Grandfather's Asia: No Thanks, We Remember World War II Many worry that a self-reflective and retrenching America is leaving a void in the world's balance of power. But hold your breath, here is Shinzo Abe coming to the rescue. Before the Americans sign their outsourcing contract with Tokyo, they would be well advised to listen carefully to Mr. Abe's Shangri-La speech. In his concluding remarks, he said that the New Japanese are really no different from their parents and grandparents in seeking to contribute to the world. For every Chinese and every Korean, it begs the question: Just who were those grandfathers Mr. Abe was so proudly referring to? |
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