Asia's festering Cold War-era territorial and maritime disputes highlight the fact that securing long-term regionwide peace depends on respect for existing borders. Attempts to disturb Asia's territorial status quo are an invitation to endemic conflict — a concern that led Asian states to welcome the United States and Russia to their annual East Asian Summit.
The Sino-Japanese diplomatic spat over disputed islands in the East China Sea — followed by a Sino-Vietnamese row over similar atolls — has put the spotlight on China's regional policy. Governments across Asia are concerned that China's rapidly accumulating power is emboldening it to assert territorial and maritime claims against neighbors stretching from Japan to India. Even against tiny Bhutan, China has stepped up its land claims through military incursions.
China's new stridency underscores Asia's central diplomatic challenge: coming to terms with existing boundaries by shedding the baggage of history that burdens all of the region's important interstate relationships. Even as Asia is becoming more interdependent economically, it is becoming more politically divided.