ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book examines Sino-Japanese relations in line with regional security nodes, relations, and balance of power in East Asia to determine the region's complex type and to provide a regional-level understanding of East Asia's evolving security architecture. To demonstrate the centrality of the Sino-Japanese rivalry in East Asian security, the also book examines the two states' competition across three sectors: security institutions, security issues, and security relations. The book demonstrates how Beijing and Tokyo have developed foreign policy approaches that are largely competitive in nature and how this competition is largely based around movement for influence and advantage between the two states. It also shows how the states' centrality within East Asia – in material and ideational terms – positions them both within East Asian security dynamics, both in instances of cooperation and conflict.
