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Title:
Studying the regional characteristics of East Asia's strategic partnerships through a Trans-East Asia Lens: Why have intra-Northeast Asia’s strategic partnerships failed to develop? - focusing on the case of China and Japan
Abstract:
Since the beginning of the 21st century, East Asia’s international landscape has been predominantly shaped by insecurity and conflict within the context of U.S.-China strategic competition. Paradoxically, this same period has also witnessed an unprecedented surge in interaction and cooperation across the region, marked by significant growth in trade, political and security collaboration, and social exchanges. Interestingly, in the post-Cold War era, when new relationships were established between East Asian countries, both sides preferred the new framework of strategic partnership to the old framework of alliances and coalitions. This study aims to identify and analyze the distinct regional characteristics of strategic partnerships in East Asia and to understand why they have assumed such prominence. To achieve this, the study first conceptualized Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia, establishing an inter-region frameworks of 'Northeast Asia-Southeast Asia' and intra-region frameworks of 'Northeast Asia-Northeast Asia' and 'Southeast Asia-Southeast Asia.' These frameworks are then compared and analyzed to uncover the comprehensive characteristics of East Asia's strategic partnerships and the underlying factors driving their development. Ultimately, this research contributes to a deeper understanding of regional diplomatic strategies within East Asia. Due to the limitations of the presentation, it is not possible to cover the full scope of the research, but only a part of the framework and theory, and the case of China and Japan, which are the most prominent examples of the limitations of the intra-region framework. In doing so, we examine how the three Northeast Asian countries failed to develop their respective partnerships and used them as fuel of will for the development of their inter-region partnerships.
