Contemporary Chinese Political Economy and Strategic Relations: An International Journal (Apr 2016)
Crimean Crisis and Military Balance in Asia
Abstract
As the Crimean Crisis goes on, many analysis have been focusing on the dynamics among parties of Ukraine, the EU, the US and Russia. Very few noticed another important strategic impact the Crisis may cause: the Chinese military rebalancing in East Asia. China has been increasingly confident in assuming both political and military power in the East Asian region. The confidence resulted in the South China Sea disputes with ASEAN countries, “Anti-Secession Law” against Taiwan, and the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands Dispute with Japan. Behind such confidence of China, the EU has consistently been exporting defence products to China since the end of the Cold War; Ukraine, although sometimes reluctantly, has also been backing China along the process of building up a stronger navy as well as other defense industry construction; Russia has traditionally been supplying China with a wide range of military hardware. It can be noticed that the Crimean Crisis involved three out of four countries and region that have been behind China’s rise. How will the Crimean Crisis influence China’s rebalance in East Asia then? The answers stay opaque. This paper will attempt to answer the questions.
