Asian Century
James Pinkerton, of Newsday, writes of three events that combined show the possibility of an "Asian Century" whereas the past century is referred to as the "American Century." As Pinkerton notes, the movement is now peaceful. As others and I have noted on more than one occasion, we are fools to believe that it will remain such. Pinkerton’s three fuses that are burning to create the Asian Century are the formation of a new Sino-Indian movement for a New Asian Order, the renewal of tension, even violence, between China and Japan, and China’s support for nuclear North Korea.
There is little comfort to be found in the current status quo or peaceful tension between China and the United States. China has renewed its political interests and ties with its giant neighbors Russia and India, it continues to pursue arms from an economically, rather than strategically, driven Europe, and as Pinkerton notes it stands at the ready to prevent any U.S. pre-emptive efforts to force change in North Korea. While yesterday I noted that I support Japan in their dispute with China, primarily for the moral lessons learned by the Japanese post WWII, it should also be clear that for purely strategic reasons the U.S. must support Japan as a counter-balance to the growing influence of China in the region.
Pinkerton’s column also notes an alarming bit of news from North Korea.
Japan's Kyodo news service says a top North Korean official declared that his country could strike America not only directly, but also indirectly: "The United States should consider the danger that we could transfer nuclear weapons to terrorists."While I’ve long stressed just such a possibility, that a DPRK official would state it as a possibility is surprising. We are clearly warranted in our attention to the Middle East and the Islamic world in general given the attacks on the Western world that have been spurred by hatred from that portion of the world, yet, as Pinkerton notes, the U.S. must not forget that there are others at work.
The U.S. cannot afford to see the world in a single Global War on Terror view nor can our support for our allies in Asia and the South Pacific be forgotten or left untended. Australia, Taiwan, Japan, Pakistan and the Philippines, in particular, are vital to our security, economic well being and potentially to our ability to balance what is clearly a growing threat in China.
