In this volume, Richard Bush, a veteran Asia analyst and US official formerly stationed in Taiwan, makes a compelling argument about the current state of Japan-China security relations and provides several interesting policy suggestions from the US perspective. He starts by outlining the policy dilemma faced by the United States when challenges do not come from a single strategic adversary, such as the former Soviet Union, but rather from conflicts between countries it hopes to maintain good relations with. In such cases, of which the Arab-Israeli conflict and China-Taiwan conflict are examples, Washington always prefers a policy of minimising the chance of a major confrontation. In the case of Japan-China relations, however, the US government is facing a somewhat different dilemma. Japan is America's chief ally in Asia, but its economic and military capabilities are in relative decline compared with China's. Will the United States take a position in favour of Japan in its increasingly troublesome strategic relations with China?
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