America and China in the Asia-Pacific: A new regional Cold War?

Abstract

AbstractOne of the possible scenarios in Asia-Pacific is a bipolar order of two great powers, the United States and China. In this situation, alliance commitments will likely remain fixed rather than flexible. This scenario is also known as “a new kind of cold war” because both actors have many social and ideological differences that will often be emphasized in the competition for the geopolitical position. Three main questions are addressed in this study: 1) What are the roles the United States plays as the status quo in the Asia-Pacific?; 2) What approaches does China take to challenge the United States-centred security order?; 3) What are solutions for the United States and China to avoid the Lose-Lose Situation in the New Cold War?. This paper goes into view on the roles of states as either status quo or revisionist and introduces the happening of a New Cold War in the Asia-Pacific. China has made much progress in recent years, but the United States still has relatively significant advantages over a traditional power in economic size, technological capabilities, and military systems. The research will analyze whether the United States could strengthen the existing order by shifting from a strategy of engagement to a confrontation against China. However, the new Cold War, the “real” of new stability and stability derived from the bipolar order is still in significant doubt. Therefore, the United States and China should find solutions to avoid the “Lose-Lose” situation for all of them.

Keywords

• United States
• China
• Asia-Pacific
• New Cold War