Introduction
In the immediate post-Cold War period, scholars and policy makers looking at strategic issues in the region tended to concentrate on Japan’s prospective military capacities and intentions. China’s strategic importance was judged to have diminished with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Yet, only a few years later, discussion about security issues in the region now centres on China.
Much of the literature continues to see regional security issues within the traditional strategic focus, the bilateral security relationships between the US and countries in the region. Although there are other important bilateral US arrangements with Australia, Korea and the Philippines, and broader regional security relationships such as the Five Power Defence Arrangement (FPDA), the bilateral relationship between the US and Japan remains pivotal, with substantial implications for the regional security order.
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