CHINA, JAPAN AND REGIONAL LEADERSHIP IN EAST ASIA, by Christopher M. Dent. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2010, 311 pp., $50 (paper)
Will East Asia ever get its own tightknit regional grouping worthy of the name? As Japan and China approach next year's 40th anniversary of normalized diplomatic ties, debate continues over whether the two Asian powerhouses can bury their differences for the greater good.
The leadership question is particularly important in an area home to 1.5 billion people, given its political tinderboxes ranging from the Korean Peninsula to the South China Sea and Taiwan. While seirei keinetsu (cold politics, hot economics) may characterize Japan-China relations, any escalation of tensions would impact well beyond the borders of the world's fastest-growing region.