East Asia has been hailed as the world’s most dynamic region for more than 30 years, experiencing significant economic prosperity and reduction in political-military conflict. China, on one hand, has risen to become one of the “G2” and a key player in international politics and economics. The U.S., on the other hand, has been in decline since September 11, 2001, and the financial crisis of 2008. A sharp conflict between the U.S. and China, which emerged after the Cheonan incident in the Yellow Sea and intensifying disputes over islands in the East and South China Seas, clearly reflects, in some sense, the rise of China and decline of the U.S. in the western Pacific.
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