East-Asian Security Cooperation And China-US Relations

Currently, East Asia is developing prosperously, with a good momentum towards multinational cooperation in this region. Security dialogue and cooperation is more popular on many social levels through various channels. However, this region at present contains a lot of uncertainties, mainly known as the Security Dilemma. Although there are 15 countries totally populated 1.7billon in this vast area, yet disadvantages are existing in the economic community and regional security cooperation. China-US relations, as one of the most important bilateral ties here, exert a decisive influence over the regional stability and peace. Meanwhile, each mode and way of their mutual exchange plays a unique role in the development of East-Asian joint security. This essay follows the main clue of the interact between East-Asian security cooperation and China-US relations, begins with the regional Security Dilemma, states the status quo of the security cooperation, the vicissitudes of Sino-US relations, not only the driving and hindering forces but also interactive modes in the process, then concludes with a systematic view over the complicate interacts between East-Asian security cooperation and China-US relations on both theoretic and realistic basis.The primo chapter generalizes the security Dilemma and the status quo of East-Asian security cooperation, including 3 parts: firstly, based on the understanding of the regional Dilemma and the definition of this term, the features of the regional dilemma are introduced as generalization, domino effect, jeopardization and uniqueness; Secondly, based on the status quo and the current problems, the mechanism of the cooperation demands improvement and can be categorized into 6 forms, that is, allied, coordinative and regional security modes, added with economic growth targeted mode, and intern-government complimentary mode;Thirdly, back-grounded with the changes in post-cold war period, both China and the U.S. have adapted their security cooperation policies, which are exemplified by the American-Japanese alliance. This example highlights the complicate and capricious Sino-US ties and their own national targets in this region accompanied with different security strategies. With the strengthening of the American-Japanese Alliance, the powers in the regional security will lose balance without any doubts, forcing other nations to take actions tit for tat. As a result, new security dilemma in this area will be born to harm the regional stability and peace.The next chapter emphasizes the vicissitudes of China-US relations in East-Asian security cooperation. The conclusion of the cold war ultimately changed the pattern of security cooperation in this region, that is, the regional powers were reshuffled and the bilateral ties changed correspondently. The ups and downs between the two countries are unveiled in 4 aspects:The first point is the understanding of East Asia in the cooperation strategic perspective. For long, East Asia is the focus of American security strategy in Asia-pacific region. The momentum of East Asia is related to the relations of the regional powers, so the White House further solidifies the US-Japanese military alliance, and improves its bilateral ties with other allies in this region, with an attemptation to dominate east-Asian security affairs; As for China, East Asia carries part of the core national interests. For the sake of the weighty strategy focused on economic construction, China needs long-term peaceful environment, and friendly neighborhood with mutual benefit cooperation. In this sense, China needs a peaceful and stable surrounding environment, especially in East Asia. The second point is the understanding of Sino-US relations in the perspective of the bilateral security cooperation. Since the cold war, Sino-US relations have seen ups and downs, but still moved forward during the zigzag process. Given the priority to the bilateral ties and the role of the other, both nations insist on cooperation in global affairs, such as, anti-terrorist actions, DPRK nuclear issues, etc., which drives Sino-US relations ahead on a sound track. The third point is the changes over the security cooperation policies of the two nations. The wees and woes of East Asia security situation correspond with Sino-US security cooperation policies. The White House began to replace prudent and insouciant attitude with active participation in multilateral dialogues on security in this region. But generally speaking, America still relies on bilateral alliances assisted by multilateral security dialogues. Contrasted to the US, China is more initiative to engage itself in and offer proposals, playing a weighting role in regional security cooperation. The forth point is the interacts between the two nations in the regional security cooperation. Respectively involved in the building of the security cooperation, China and America change their views and make proposals to develop the multilateral security mechanism, which is not only conducive to melt differences in the mechanism, but benefit to fulfill their own goals.The third chapter reveals the driving and hindering forces between the regional cooperation and the bilateral relations through analysis on various factors in the ties on global, regional and bilateral levels respectively. This essay mainly discusses three factors: global facts include the changes of international system, global mechanism and the powers'world strategic schedules; regional factors include security pattern, environment and mechanism of East Asia; unconventional factors include economic and"new"ideological difference. The triple above plays important role in the interacts.The forth chapter examines the modes and methods of the interacts, including: firstly, security confrontation featured by deterrence and compulsion, such as, the bilateral crisis induced by Korean War and Taiwan issue; secondly, security competition, featured by equipollence and alliance, such as, the American policies equipollence and military alliance in East Asia region, but it is not overall contradictory between the competition and cooperation; thirdly, security cooperation, featured by dialogue and mechanism, such as, bilateral security dialogue, military exchange, global strategic cooperation(anti-terrorism), and regional security cooperation( Korean nuclear issue).The last chapter puts forward prospects of Sino-US relations and East-Asian security cooperation, noting a complicate interact between the relations and the cooperation. Such interact is neither single nor unilateralism, let alone to be limited in a certain area. It is horizontally combined with the global security environment; on the other hand, it is not"monopolar"but vertically related to economy, culture and mentality. China-US relations are the most important bilateral ties to mode the regional security cooperation, which vice versa influences the status quo and development of the partnership. An advancing relation propels the regional security cooperation; otherwise, it intensifies the tense in the region. In turn, the cooperation also has a duel effect on the relation. In order to get rid of the security dilemma and enhance security cooperation, the two nations should multiple exchanges and cooperation through the existing joint mechanism, and change the hindering factors into the driving forces for the security cooperation. Hence, towards a good orientation, the two nations with joint development, erase misunderstanding, decrease differences and realize sound interacts, with a joint effort to build peace and development in East Asia and the world at large.