HA3019 EAST ASIAN SECURITY: PAST, PRESENT, & FUTURE (3.0 AU)

‘The Asian Century’ is the buzz word that many pundits and experts use in describing East Asia in the 21st Century. Given the rapid economic development in the region, propelled by China and the Southeast Asian states with the United States, Japan, and South Korea as the established economies, Asia has a great potential to lead the world economies. However, East Asia currently faces many security challenges, including strategic uncertainty about the rise of China and US commitment to the region; regional territorial disputes, such as East and South China Sea, the Northern Territories, Takeshima/Dokto, India-China border disputes; Japan?s historical controversies with China and South Korea; North Korea’s nuclear and missile development; and the Taiwan political problem. Here, the important question is how to maintain regional stability and ensure the mid- and long-term security in East Asia to realize a true ‘Asian Century.’
This course provides the student in-depth knowledge about the security development in East Asia from the post-World War II period as well as theoretical perspectives to capture the main components of East Asian Security mechanism. We will discuss the concept of ‘East Asia’ and ?International Security; history of East Asian security; US ‘hub-and-spoke’ system, particularly the US-Japan alliance; ASEAN multilateralism, particularly ASEAN Regional Forum, ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting, and East Asia Summit; advanced theoretical frameworks to make sense of East Asian security; and regional security issues, such as the Rise of China, the Korean Peninsula, the Taiwan Straits, East and South China Sea. In order to foster discussions in the class, students need to catch up with contemporary East Asian affairs, through Newspaper, Magazines, and on-line media. By the end of this class, you should have a more nuanced understanding of security threats in East Asia and be able to use international relations theory to explain why certain issues become threats and how political actors have sought to resolve them.