ABSTRACT
Asia-Pacific region has a dual reputation. This region has been outside the permanent control of major international powers but it has been a fulcrum of international conflict. The rivalries among the major Asian powers provided the overlay in the organization of regional security structures in Asia. In Asia, multipolarity has taken shape at two levels: continental Asian relationships involve the major powers; sub-regional relationships involve major and minor powers in the key nodal points of conflict, in North East Asia, South and South East Asia. A number of developments have changed the fundamentals of Asia-Pacific international relations. The end of the American-Russian Cold War produced slogans about the ‘end of history’ and the emergency of unipolarity, but the perceptions are superficial. The distribution of military and economic power as well as the patterns of relationships has been in the process of continuous evolution since the period of European colonization in Asia and the Indian Ocean area.
