ABSTRACT
China, according to the Commission on America’s National Interest, is likely to be a revisionist power with hegemonic ambitions in East Asia. A vital interest of the United States is to prevent the emergence of such a hostile hegemon. Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew may quarrel with the tone of the Commission’s prognosis, but he is unlikely to object to its substance. As the prime architect and chief spokesperson of Singapore’s China policy, Lee has described China’s rise in not dissimilar terms: “It’s not possible to pretend that this is just another player. This is the biggest player in the history of man.” Consequently, “[t]he size of China’s displacement of the world balance is such that the world must find a new balance in 30 to 40 years.”2 Indeed, Lee does the Commission one better by providing a structural explanation for the source of US-China tensions:
China has the potential to become a super-power. America’s interest is to maintain the status quo, where it is the only super-power but in 30 years China’s growth could challenge this pre-eminence. So there will always be some underlying tension in US-China relationships.3
