ABSTRACT
Today's Asia is a volatile region, or rather an epicentre of insecurity in terms of potential armed conflict, failed states possessing weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), proliferation of WMD technologies, clandestine arms transfers and human/drug trafficking. The Senkaku Islands dispute has severely damaged the relationship between China and Japan. In 2003, China unilaterally started exploring the Chunxiao/Shirakaba oil and gas field – an area that Japan has been claiming as part of its exclusive economic zone – in spite of Tokyo's repeated protests. As the status quo power in the Asia–Pacific region, the US feels the increasing challenge of a rising China. The US–China confrontation may in turn drag the region into a new Cold War, while the possibility of the outbreak of a hot war involving WMDs cannot be ruled out. The war legacy and its consequence for contemporary Asian security provide Japan with an important strategic opportunity for achieving reconciliation in Asia.
