Introduction: The Paradox of the East Asian Peace

Abstract

The East Asian peace is a major puzzle.¹ The purpose of this book is to develop an understanding of why it persists, with a focus on the post-Cold War period. This is done through an empirical study of the East Asian security setting, with an emphasis on three cases: the Taiwan issue, the Korean nuclear conflict, and the South China Sea conflict. Two questions are asked:

• 1. Why does a relative peace exist in post-Cold War East Asia, despite the many factors pointing in the direction of armed conflict?

• 2. What are the informal processes and mechanisms that can explain the relative peace in the absence of any security organisation or other formalised mechanisms to prevent conflicts from escalating into violence?

The East Asian peace is an empirical paradox. A relative peace exists, despite East Asia being a region with a history of militarised conflicts. It is home to many of the world’s longest ongoing militarised disputes and a number of unresolved critical flashpoints. Many of these conflicts concern territory and/or national liberation, which historically have been the two most common causes of international conflicts (Holsti 1991). They are often deeply rooted, as East Asia is a region with a high level of intraregional distrust, with many issues that are embedded in the historical and national narratives.