000			03170nam a22002657a 4500
999			_c39758 _d39758
020			_a9789383445783
041			_aeng-
082			_a327.52051 _bKUM-S
100			_aKumar, Sudeep _eauthor
245			_aShinzo Abe and Japan-China security relations : _birritants & legacies / _cDr. Sudeep Kumar
260			_aNew Delhi : _bIndian Council of World Affairs, _c2023.
300			_a46p.
504			_aIncludes bibliographical references
520			_aThe paper examines Japan-China security relations during the second administration of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe from 2012. This was also the year when Chinese President Xi Jinping came into power. For the Abe-Xi Era (2012-20), no comprehensive assessment is available regarding the evolving Chinese grand strategy and Japan's strategic responses within the larger policy framework of Trump's East Asia policy. The rise of these two strong Asian political leaders of world's second and third largest economies initiated a series of backchannel efforts to normalise their contemporary bilateral relations. As a result, at the 2014 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Beijing, their 'quiet diplomacy' facilitated the brief meeting of both leaders. On Xi's official invitation, Abe visited Beijing again in 2018 in pursuit of a major breakthrough in bilateral relations. This period saw Abe proactively involved in diplomatic manoeuvrings to safeguard major bilateral and regional issues such as the 'bilateral history problem', 'core contentious issues', 'rise of China', and 'nuclear-capable North Korean missile program' and so on. On the other hand, China's rising economic and military power emboldened Xi to decide the future direction of bilateral relations vis-à-vis Japan and the United States. This period was also to see American President Donald Trump (2017-2021) and his transactional policies further complicating the multilayered Japan-China security relationship. The strategic competition between China and the United States led to a paradigm shift where Japan, as the defence ally of the United States, was adapting to the evolving Chinese grand strategy in the multi-polar Indo-Pacific. Japan wanted to remain a 'tier-1' power and planned hike in the defence budget, rapid military modernisation, and increasing joint military training in the region. It seems that Japan's strategic response to the rise of China during this period faced a crucial question, i.e. whether to kowtow to Xi's building a community of common destiny. In this backdrop, this paper analyses the continuity and changes in Abe's security policy towards Xi-led China and possible implications for peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
546			_aEnglish.
650			_aNational security _xGovernment policy _zJapan
650			_aForeign relations _xChina
650			_aChina—Foreign relations _xJapan
650			_aJapan—Politics and government _x21st century
650			_aChina—Politics and government _x21st century
650			_aSecurity, International _xEast Asia
650			_aGeopolitics _xEast Asia
650			_aIndo-Pacific Region—Strategic aspects
942			_2ddc _cBK