A Rising China Will Benefit the US and its Allies

For the last twenty eight years, China has been quickly growing into one of the largest economies in the world. China has accomplished this feat, in part, by radically changing their policies on trade and free market interactions with other countries. During this process, China has bought approximately one hundred trillion dollars of United States debt in the form of Treasury bills, notes, bonds, and Inflation Protected Securities (Amadeo). This debt has given China leverage against the United States which has enabled China to keep the value of the United States dollar high, while keeping the value of the Chinese yuan low. As the inflation of the dollar continues to negatively affect the

The rising tension over the sinking of a South Korean ship reached to a serious conflict between South Korean and North Korea. South Korean is accusing North Korean for firing the torpedo on purpose which resulted in 46 sailors deaths. According to Yonhap news, North Korean military official accused the South of intruding into North Korean waters in the Yellow Sea. North Korea sends a warning message to South Korea by firing torpedo to warn South Korea to not intrude in to their waters in Yellow Sea. North Korea doesn’t want to admit to their mistake; instead they are threatening to retaliate with military actions if South Korea won’t stop with accusations.

Since their purchase by the Japanese government from their private owners in September 2012, the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands have been a topic of protest and discontent in the East China Sea and its surrounding area. While current conflicts have arisen because of skirmishes with patrol boats and sightings of Chinese drones flying over the islands, disputes over sovereignty of the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands have existed since the cession of Chinese territory in the Treaty of Shimonoseki following China’s defeat in the Sino-Japanese War. Original ownership of the islands was never officially settled between China and Japan, but after the establishment of several more international treaties in the twentieth century, jurisdiction over the islands became unclear and practically undeterminable. While conflicts were set aside during the latter half of the twentieth century in order to improve Sino-Japanese relationships, the purchase of the islands and military activity renewed tensions between the two nations. Present-day territorial disputes over the sovereignty of the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands are a result of the multiple cessions and reversions of control in twentieth century treaty laws between China and Japan.

This militarized conflict arose from Japan’s attempt to create a colonial empire, spanning the various Pacific Ocean. Because of its stature, Japan experienced several natural resource shortages, which triggered widespread panic among the people. Consequently, the Japanese government established a strategic framework from which they would acquire the territory, which could compensate for such scarcities: this underlying structure instituted a system through which Japan would conquer a significant portion of the territory, contained within the Pacific Ocean. Japanese

The recent interactions of emerging and established states suggest that the existing standards of the current global economy are shifting. According to Stewart Patrick in his article “Irresponsible Stakeholders? The Difficulty of Integrating Rising Powers,” the United States must accommodate for emerging states within the global economy and refrain from enforcing their values of an open and liberal international economy in order to achieve effective cooperation. Similarly, Andrew Nathan and Andrew Scobell argue in their article “How China Sees America: The Sum of Beijingʻs Fears” that as China gains more influence within the global economy, the United States will have to respond appropriately to maintain its economic values. Both articles ultimately assert that

Despite much domestic and international hysteria that Japan could now be drawn into foreign conflicts, and potentially even launch a war, closer scrutiny reveals it still has a long way to go to cast off its pacific post-War legacy. “The United States supports recent changes in Japanese defense policy, including the adoption of collective self-defense and new bilateral guidelines for U.S.-Japan Defense Cooperation,” (Crook,

The Korean peninsula has always been in a rough location. It is located between China and Japan, trapped. It could be reasonably compared to the rope in a tug-of-war game, having been occupied by one or the other for a large majority of time. In 1910, Japan had annexed Korea and were occupying the region. Their occupation stayed firm until Japan’s ultimate defeat in World War 2. One may think that Japan leaving the region would mean that Korea would receive its sovereignty back. However, they ended up becoming more divided than ever. After World War 2, the Soviet Union and the United States became involved in what is commonly known as the Cold War. The Soviet Union was communist. The U.S. wanted to keep communism from spreading. The Cold War

When it comes to the political profile, seven different countries have competing maritime claims (mostly over the Spratly and Paracel Islands), some of which become even more complicated as some overlap with other nations’ Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ). Despite the “intraregional distrust, deeply rooted historical issues, and rapidly increasing military spending” in the region surrounding the South China Sea, one expert argues that “not only has the conflict not escalated into a serious military conflict; it has, in fact, been mitigated… in fact, a more stable peace has developed.” (Costlow, 2012, p.6).

Japan’s claim to these islands was based on historical ties that dated back to the twelfth century. However, the islanders paid homage to the Chinese as well, and it wasn’t until the murder of shipwrecked Ryukyans by Taiwanese aboriginals that Japan was able to implement their general goal. In 1879,through skillful diplomacy and military expedition, the Meiji government won recognition of its sovereignty over the islands over China and the Western powers.

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, the Cold War was over, making the U.S. the only superpower left in the world. This has made the international system much more tranquil, and relaxed. The only country potentially powerful besides the U.S., is China. Many Americans fear China, not only because they are communist, but also because of their huge population. Their population is 1.3 billion people, which accounts 1/5th of the world’s population. As one of the only potential superpowers in the world, it would be in the best interest of all Americans if the U.S. and China became allies, instead of enemies. Peace and development, economic prosperity and social progress, are goals that both of

Japan however claims the Senkaku Islands belong to them because it was returned to them by the U.S. in 1971, under the Okinawa reversion deal, after they renounced the claims of the Islands after WW2. The islands are disputed over the fact that it is a strategic location for trade routes, military bases, and potential oil/gas reserves.

In his other main point, the value of the four islands is central to his argument of strained relations between the two countries. The islands were both explored and claimed by both countries during interesting periods of history. When Japan explored the islands in the Tokugawa Period, they were in a period of extreme isolation. Russia explored the islands during the same period when they were in a period of expanding. (Kimura)(pg. 144)The islands are rich with oil and have some of the best fishing in the ocean. The author points out due to the expansive nature of the two countries, the need for resources only added fuel to the fire. (Kimura)(pg. 144) Japan viewed the small islands also known as the Kurille Islands

It is very frustrating that Dokdo Island is still on the controversy since my childhood period. An island located at the most east of Korea, first one to face the morning, Dokdo has always been Korean land in the history. However, due to Korean government’s pathetic policies and Japanese government’s compuctionless policy, there is a controversy about whose land Dokdo is. While it is well known that the island decides the border line of the sea, for Korean, the island has a historical symbol. Giving up Dokdo means that Korean let Japanese colonial era of Korea to be justified. Similar to the Korean comfort women issue, Japan does not admit the faultiness of them, instead, tries to hide their crime. Problem is, Japanese truly believe that Dokdo

An enduring dispute over Dokdo Island has proven difficult to resolve. Japan and Korea have been having an argument over the island for sovereignty ever since 1910 (South). This island has three names, Dokdo, Takeshima, and Liancourt. Dokdo, a solitary island, is a Korean name for this island. Takeshima, a Bamboo Island, is what Japanese call it. Both Japan and South Korea uses historical facts to support their claims for the island (Profile). To what extent is the dispute between Korea and Japan an issue about resources versus history?

In order to better understand the dispute of these islands and this body of water, geography plays a role considering the area sea is located to borders on many different regions. According Chmillier-Gendreau (2000), the south-west of the Indian Ocean, the sea connects with the Straits of Malacca and Singapore. To the north-east, the sea connects with the Sea of Japan and the Strait of Korea. The position of this body of water is interconnected with many other bodies of waters which coincide with many countries. The islands residing in the middle of this sea therefore lies in the middle of many different countries. The two islands, Spratly and Paracel Islands lie in the middle of the maritime zone. Since it is in the middle, no neighboring country is really physically connected to these islands by geography (Chemillier-Gendreau, 2000, p. 16). Despite that fact, China and Vietnam both claim sovereignty over these islands based on historical and