Major Power Relations in the Asia-Pacific

While the Asia-Pacific has become the dynamic center of the world economy, politics, and diplomacy, the simultaneous “rise” of China and India, the drive for “normalcy” of Japan, and the forceful “return” of the United States have brought about great uncertainties in the region, making the Asia-Pacific the critical flashpoint of the twenty-first century. However, the existing security and economic structures can hardly compensate for these shifts; nor are there any rule-based regimes to shape the policies and behaviors of the powers in the region. How these major powers manage their relations with each other will have immense implications for regional and global peace and prosperity. This research theme will probe the development of institutional mechanisms governing the bilateral, regional, and multilateral relationship between major powers within the Asia-Pacific and gauge whether they are sufficient to mitigate conflict and advance peace and prosperity.

Of critical importance within the regional nucleus is the Sino-Indian relationship. Growing faster than any of the other major economies, China and India are rapidly rising to global power status, with increasing national ambitions and aspirations. Meanwhile, both countries are leveraging stellar growth trajectories to modernize their armed forces. As a result, the future of these two countries and how they handle their bilateral relationship are of global significance. The aim of the Research Project, China-India Relations: Cooperation Between the Two Asian Giants, led by Professor Huang Jing and Professor Kanti Bajpai, is to identify and examine common interests and potential conflicts between the two Asian giants, so as to explore how the two countries can make a joint effort to increase cooperation and prevent conflict from escalating into confrontation.