Balance of Power Politics and the Rise of China: Accmodation and Balancing in East Asia.

Robert Ross examins how East and Southeast Asian states have responded to China’s new strength. The analysis addresses what he sees as a gap in realist thinking, which typically attributes secondary state alignment policies exclusively to military capabilities or to economic dependence, without considering more complex alternatives. The behavior of China’s neighbors reveals a more complex pattern. South Korea and Taiwan, which face a combination of overwhelming Chinese military strength and deep dependence on economic ties with their giant neighbor, find themselves drawn into a pattern of accommodation with Beijing. For Japan and the ASEAN nations, he argues, growing economic dependence on China has led to a pattern of balancing rather than accommodation, as these nations move to strengthen security ties with the United States. Ross concludes that economic influence alone does not necessitate policies of accommodation on the part of secondary states, that predictions of region-wide Chinese dominance are unfounded, and that continued U.S. maritime superiority can support new security arrangements that protect the fundamental interests of all major powers and enable a stable balance in East Asia. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]