Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

As the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII draws near, reviewing the different development paths of Asian countries after the war is important to better understand the challenges China faces of territorial disputes with its neighboring countries.

Around the 1950s and early 1960s, most colonial Asian states declared independence, after which they engaged in two different approaches to realize development. Firstly, they tried to explore a path which fitted their conditions, and in this way they wanted to grow into developed countries as soon as possible.

The second approach is that they tried to resume the course of history that had been disrupted by foreign intrusions or colonialism, and in this way they sought to realize national rejuvenation.

However, both approaches have proved bumpy. In the Cold War era, most Asian countries had to pick sides between the US and the Soviet Union, and their hopes of seeking independence were compromised.

After the Cold War, these countries have been given more freedom to promote these two development models. When globalization prevails, emerging economies in Asia have been enjoying an unprecedented environment for rise. With more energies injected to improve the two models, many Asian countries have seen reasonably rapid growth and regional vitality has also been enlarged.

These two models adopted by rising Asian powers are conducive to confirming these countries' new positions in the world, and influence the restructure of the regional and global order.

But an emphasis on national independence and an awareness of nationalism will usually stimulate the ethos to protect sovereign integrity. It cannot be avoided as long as a state makes real efforts to seek more independence and national dignity. Such a trend buried the seeds for potential territorial disputes.

In the past, Western suzerains usually controlled colonies by demarcating controversial border lines and raising internal ethnic tensions. Therefore, Asian states tend to regard border demarcations as an essential sign of real independence. Fixed and recognized border lines are closely linked, they believe, to their development, stability and unity.

This is the root cause for the territorial disputes between China and some of its neighbors. With or without an external major power's intervention, conflicts regarding territorial sovereignty would emerge. The perception that these territorial disputes would be solved if the US was removed from the equation is wrong.

Washington has its own strategic considerations in the South China Sea, but from another perspective, it is the resurrection of national consciousness among the countries on the perimeter of the South China Sea that gives Washington leverage.

But it must be noted that the territorial disputes among some Asian countries are fundamentally different from the aggressive imperial intrusions imposed by the West and Japan in the past. WWII was inevitable because the rise of German Nazis and Japanese militarism was sparked by their lust for conquering vast new territories. But the current territorial disputes among Asian powers are caused by the awakening of their national identity and need for sovereign integrity. These are historical issues and will be addressed during the process of independence.

Therefore, most territorial issues in Asia, including the South China Sea disputes, can be resolved peacefully. In fact, settling border conflicts is the final step to remove the colonial residue once and for all.

The process requires the cooperation of non-Asian powers that are stakeholders in Asia, but Asian countries should depend on themselves to find out a satisfying approach.

Whether Asia can deal with this issue properly will determine whether it will be able to blaze a new trail of development which is different from the West's.

The author is a senior editor with People's Daily. He is now stationed in Brazil. dinggang@globaltimes.com.cn. Follow him on Twitter at @dinggangchina