US future strategy toward E. Asia should be stable triangle relations with China, Japan: US professor

Source:Xinhua Published: 2013-10-25 23:56:09

Renowned US professor Joseph Nye, Jr. said Friday that a future US strategy toward East Asia should be stable triangle relations with China and Japan that all of them could benefit from seeking more common interests.

The professor made the remarks during a national security symposium held in the Tokyo International University in Saitama prefecture, adding the strategy should be anchoring in the US- Japan security treaty.

Nye further explained that the triangle is not an equilateral one as the United States and Japan are bilateral alliance, but the triangle should be liable and beneficial to all sides.

On the rebalancing strategy carried out by the US President Barack Obama's administration in the East Asian region, the professor said that rebalance is not containment, saying the United States is not containing China through rebalancing.

"If you look at the history of containment in the Cold War, what you will find is that the United States was containing the Soviet Union. There was almost no trade between the two countries. There was almost no social contact between the societies," Nye said.

Nye also said relations between the United States and China will not slip into a "security dilemma" which means a country's rise will definitely trigger fears among others.

He said that China's economy has not yet surpassed that of the United States and even if China's GDP grows higher than the United States, the latter remains the world's sole power that can project its military forces all around the world.

The tycoon on international relations forecasted that his triangle blueprint will face three major challenges, namely rising nationalism in involving countries, territorial disputes in the region and the situation in the Korean Peninsula.

Countries in the region should avoid inflaming nationalism and be prepared for contingencies in the disputed area, suggested Nye, adding that countries should not overstate "China's threats" as it would trigger more conflicts.

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