ABSTRACT
Historically, Asia has few longstanding regional institutions, and regionalism has not been a primary factor in shaping its regional circumstances. Regionalism and regional institutions are now important aspects of Asia's regional politics. To better understand the emerging structural confrontations between China and Japan, this chapter describes both countries' involvement in various regional institutions in East Asia, and to discuss how these two countries' promotion of regionalism have been intertwined with their competition for leadership in establishing and maintaining a regional order in East Asia. There is a aspect of Sino-Japanese institutional competition that underlies competition to establish forums. Sino-Japanese competition over regionalism and regional institutions is ongoing, but it seems to have entered a new phase. Sino-Japanese relations are similarly nuanced and complex, but the aspect of competition is a crucial factor. The chapter attempts to clarify the changing dynamics that are evident in the trends that characterize the competition between China and Japan.
