In comparison to them, what will international competition (not exactly war, but maybe competition for excellence) look like tomorrow in Nihonjin1051's view?
Hey
@Shotgunner51 ,
Its definitely going to be an interesting century , if not growing unstable, in regards to global health. There are pockets of instability in the globe that the West (traditionally have taken the mantle of being the "guardians" of world order) have proven unable to control or keep at peace. When i say the 'West', I'm referring to the United States, France, UK, Germany and other key and active members of NATO (as not all NATO member states are active at all, many are insignificant).
Now, let me identify these pockets of instability:
a) The Middle East (Syria , Iraq, GCC)
b) North Africa (Libya, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia)
c) Subsaharan Africa (Nigeria, Congo, Kenya, Benin, Djibouti, Sudan
d) Latin America (Venezuela, Colombia, Nicaragua, Panama, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico)
e) Europe (The Ukraine, the ethnic / religious tensions in Europe cannot be ignored)
f) South and Southeast Asia
It is clear that the West-led security apparatus is not able to counter effectively these threats, either they are unable to or are unwilling to expend the resources that continues to mount our global community. This is where I see the role of East Asia coming to play. The Giants of East Asia (China and Japan) have been largely vested in development of Asia-Pacific , this can be seen in our two nations' massive economies (China = $10.5 Trillion GDP, Japan = $5 Trillion GDP).
China and Japan have been active in Africa and beyond in terms of investment and developmental initiatives, and our foreign policies , clearly and visibly, have been affixed on a peaceful vantage point. To a flaw. Our multi-billion dollar initiatives in Africa, the Middle East and beyond have been limited to official development assistance aid, grants, but have been lacking in security apparatus. The multi billion dollar initiatives by both Japan and China in North Africa and the Middle East have been incinerated due to the civil war and terrorism-based infighting there.
In trying to focus on being 'benign' and 'peaceful oriented' both Japan and China have not , historically, aspired for a military based foreign policy or a linked security apparatus with our multifactorial investments abroad. See how that helped us ! It is apparent, my friend, that Japan and China MUST take up an active policy in securing our interests abroad. It is necessary given the size of our individual nations' economy, which if combined is as large as the entire European Union.
So what must we do? What must be done? Active participation and deployment of the People's Liberation Army, Navy and Air Force in order to secure China's interests in Africa, the Middle East, South America, Europe. Japan, too, must deploy the Japanese Self Defense Forces to secure Japanese trade missions abroad, investments, as well as work with the Chinese to guarantee the Freedom of Navigation in the Straits of Djibouti as well as in the Persian Gulf. We cannot rely simply on NATO or the Americans. And that is clear. We must discern on our future, our shared and mutual interests , and together must work to stabilize our Asia-Pacific, and Beyond. We are living in the cusp of an interesting paradigm shift in regards to international power and order.
Wow you are a real think tank ... kudos ...
In
George Orwell's novel, the future are fought between "East Asia" (Beijing-Tokyo-Seoul axis), "Oceania" (US and 4 Anglo states) and "Eurasia" (Moscow-Berlin axis).
View attachment 208625
In
Samuel Huntington's theory, clash of civilization would happen between the
Confucian East, the Christian West and the Muslim world.
View attachment 208626
In comparison to them, what will international competition (not exactly war, but maybe competition for excellence) look like tomorrow in
Nihonjin1051's view?
@Shotgunner51 buddy,
I recommend you read a work by Okabe Tatsumi titled "
Nitchu kankei no kako to shorai (The Past and Future of Sino-Japanese Relations)"
Nitchu kankei stresses the mutual influence and interrelationships that characterize Sino-Japanese relations. Peace and friendship are advanced as natural and appropriate goals for both powers to be achieved through mutual understanding. Okabe presses for a problem-solving approach toSino-Japanese relations. “Can we really say that ‘China is bad’ or ‘Japan is bad’? China has its point of view and Japan has Japan’s.” From this starting point, the work discusses previous failings of Sino-Japanese relations, outlines potential pitfalls, and imagines a better future. It exemplifies how positive imaginative projects conducive to a breakthrough in China-Japan relations are being presented in Japanese academic and popular writing.
The orientation of the majority of Japanese academics in the humanities and social sciences, and of presses that publish a range of relevant titles like Iwanami and Akashi Shoten, is positive about the future of China-Japan relations. What is particularly striking is that the hopeful vision presented in
Nitchu kankei is shared by popular works in all of the major paperback non-fiction series. The majority clearly anticipate closer relations between Japan and China and see this as serving Japanese as well as Chinese interests.
@TaiShang bro, i know you're an academic scholar, have you read Okabe's works before? He's one of my favorites in regards to Sino-Japanese Analysis. In fact some of his earlier works inspired me in conducting some of my own independent research on the cross-straits relations (China-Japan, not China-Taiwan, lol).
