The Asian/Pacific area has become a crucial arena of great power rivalry. It is in this region that the interests and ambitions of the United States, the Soviet Union, Japan, and the People's Republic of China most frequently intersect. At least partially in response to these realities, new or strengthened alignments or relationships--most of them tentative and not yet fully formed--are developing in the region. Among these developments are the Sino-American and Sino-Japanese rapprochements, growing unity within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and improved relations...

The Asian/Pacific area has become a crucial arena of great power rivalry. It is in this region that the interests and ambitions of the United States, the Soviet Union, Japan, and the People's Republic of China most frequently intersect. At least partially in response to these realities, new or strengthened alignments or relationships--most of them tentative and not yet fully formed--are developing in the region. Among these developments are the Sino-American and Sino-Japanese rapprochements, growing unity within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and improved relations...