This book proposes a novel theoretical framework of "interactive arming" in order to explain armament dynamics in contemporary Asia. Frequently, the modernisation of contemporary naval forces in Asia is described as an "arms race," with the underlying assumption being that weapons acquisitions and increases in defence expenditure are competitive and bilateral and due to conflicting purposes or mutual fears. This book argues that the concept of an arms race is an unsuitable one for explaining contemporary military modernisation in 21st-century Asia. Instead, it proposes a novel and innovative concept of "interactive arming" and argues that what drives conflict is political rivalry, not weapons acquisitions. Instead of perceiving arming as abnormal behaviour, the book views arming as a natural strategic behaviour of states and military modernisation as a basic requirement for a state’s ability to survive. This book will be of much interest to students of Asian security, strategic studies and international relations in general.

China's rise to global economic and strategic eminence, with the potential for achieving pre-eminence in the greater-Asian region, is one of the defining characteristics of the post-Cold War period. This work offers a basic understanding of the military-strategic basis and trajectory of a rising China, provides background, and outlines current and future issues concerning China's rise in strategic-military influence. The next decade may witness China's assertion of military or strategic pressure on Japan, the Korean Peninsula, India, the South China Sea, the Taiwan Strait, Central Asia, or even on behalf of future allies in Africa and Latin America. While conflict is not a foregone conclusion, as indicated by China's increasing participation in many benign international organizations, it is a fact that China's leadership will pursue its interests as it sees them, which may not always coincide with those of the United States, its friends, and allies. Until now, no single volume has existed that provides an authoritative, comprehensive, and concise description of China's evolving geo-strategy or of how China is transforming its military to carry out this strategy. Fisher examines how China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) remains critical to the existence of the Chinese Communist government and looks at China's political and military actions designed to protect its expanded strategic interests in both the Asia-Pacific and Central to Near-Asian regions. Using open sources, including over a decade of unique interview sources, Fisher documents China's efforts to build a larger nuclear force that may soon be protected by missile defenses, modern high technology systems for space, air, and naval forces, and how China is now beginning to assemble naval, air, and ground forces for future power projection missions. His work also examines how the United States and other governments simultaneously seek greater engagement with China on strategic concerns, while hedging against its rising power. Although China faces both internal and external constraints on its rise to global eminence, it cannot be denied that China's government is pursuing a far-reaching strategic agenda.

This book examines to what extent geopolitics explains the current wave of force modernisation in the Indo-Pacific region. Examining the leading Indo-Pacific nations in terms of defence spending: the United States, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Taiwan, Singapore, Pakistan, Indonesia and Thailand, geopolitical principles are used to create hypotheses that can be tested against the military modernisation programmes of the major actors in the Indo-Pacific region. The book represents a bridge between reference works and the literature on international politics in the Indo-Pacific. The empirical chapters provide qualitative narratives that explore the force postures, military modernisation and procurement patterns of the cases, and assess why these nations’ military modernisation has followed particular courses and evaluate this evidence against the expectations of geopolitics and its rivals. This book will be a valuable addition to scholars, practitioners and, indeed, anyone interested in the future stability of one of the world’s most important and dynamic regions.

This book addresses certain existing issues related to different types of security and identity and how they can be resolved by global governance in contemporary times and its peaceful dimensions including security concerns relevant to the national interest. This book is also an effort to examine the present security situation by identifying variant existing perception that leads to serious problems of vulnerability of sovereign nation- India and the World. The issues discussed here have vital implications over the region’s security that raises pertinent questions related to human security and human survival. The papers are contributed by eminent academicians and scholars and it is presenting most of the relevant topics like- Comprehensive Analysis of Traditional Security Challenges and Praxis: India and the Asia-Pacific Region’s Security Dynamics, The Changing Discourses on Hegemony and Identity and the Future of International Order, An Analytical Study of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Water and Sanitation Sectors in the Indian Economy, Identity Politics from an Indian Perspective, Displacement And Rehabilitation: A Take At G20 Summit In Delhi And Its Consequences, Assessing India-Taiwan relations in the context of the Taiwan Strait Situation, Traditional Knowledge and Intellectual Property Rights Protection: Challenges and Potential solutions in Indian Perspective, The Impact of Covid-19 on Media and Society, India: Roadmap to Achieve the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) by 2030, Child Security and Global Governance, Heath Crisis of Syrians since 2011: An Analysis, Drug Trafficking as Transnational and Non-traditional Threat for India’s Border Security, Child Security and Global Governance, Governance and Education, Maritime Security of India in the Indo-Pacific: Challenges, Capabilities iii and Prospects, German Diaspora In Russia: A Potential Force In International Relations, Identity Politics And Its Impact On Economy (Comparative Analysis), Understanding the Sociology of Healthcare Data Breaches and its Implications to Human Identity and Security in Contemporary Society – A Critical Study, Current South Asian Security-related Issues: Security Problems in the Emergence of the Twenty- first Century, Honour Killing and Social Death In India: A Critical Analysis.

Annotation The most thorough overview of the Chinese defense programs and Sino-American military relations by a leading authority.

This book explores China’s use of faits accomplis in its periphery, and offers the first formal model for the use of faits accomplis by rising powers. With growing attention to great power competition and conflict in the gray zone between war and peace, this book explains China’s use of faits accomplis to revise the maritime status quo in the South and East China Seas. Using formal modelling and case study analysis, the book argues that while power shifts provide rising states with opportunities to impose faits accomplis to revise the status quo, the use of faits accomplis also increase the likelihood of war with the dominant state(s). The book surveys existing understandings of how power shifts incentivize interstate competition in general and in the case of Sino-American competition in particular, and brings existing theory and novel modelling to explain China’s differing strategies in the South and East China Seas in the first two decades of the 21st century. The book concludes by using the lessons from these cases to assess the strategic options available to both states and conditions that make a peaceful resolution more likely. This book will be of much interest to students of Chinese politics, Asian security studies and International Relations.

This edited book provides a range of perspectives on the handling of particular aspects of the Covid-19 pandemic across the principal states of South Asia. As the first academic volume to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic in South Asia, it examines such issues as how India has dealt with the fallout of the pandemic on its substantial diaspora in the Middle East; the competitive Sino-Indian vaccine diplomacy strategies in Bangladesh; Nepal’s attempts to cope with the pandemic in light of its limited health infrastructure; Sri Lanka’s differential treatment of its population based upon ethnic preferences; and how Pakistan’s civil-military relations shaped its handling of the pandemic. The Introduction and the first section summarize the responses to the pandemic made by each principal state in the region. These chapters assess the process of decision-making within each state, with special attention placed on identifying and analzying the actors involved. The Covid-19 pandemic is also reshaping international relations of the subcontinent and the pandemic has laid bare several new cross-border challenges and opportunities that states will have to contend with in the future. The book also considers five of the most pressing issue areas. First, it considers how diaspora communities in the Gulf were affected by the pandemic, and what lessons South Asian sending states can take from protecting their citizens in the future. Second, the Covid-19 pandemic will affect how countries engage in status politics, shaping which countries will be able to lead in regional relations. Third, the Covid-19 pandemic is likely to affect prospects for regional cooperation, both for dealing with the current pandemic as well as future crises. Fourth, it will shape how South Asian states engage in global governance. Fifth, South Asian states may revisit their relations with China in light of the pandemic. This book will be of much interest to students of South Asian politics, human security and international relations.