This text analyses the structural dynamics of the Sino-American-Japanese triangular relationship by exploring how the 1971 Nixon-Kissinger announcement to pursue rapprochement with the People's Republic of China (PRC), in the context of the overall detente strategy, fundamentally altered the US-Japanese relationship. It argues that the systematic structure of international relations in East Asia during the detente period was similar in significant ways to today's post-Cold War period. Highlighting the importance of China to US policy options towards East Asia enables us to provide a more...