ABSTRACT
This process accelerated following the end of the Cold War in 1989. By around 2000 Asia's arms build-up, particularly in East Asia, began to draw the attention of regional analysts. As it has become fashionable to describe recent defence modernization and expansion in Asia, particularly in East Asia, as an arms race, it is necessary clearly to define what exactly constitutes an arms race. A useful conceptual framework was offered by Colin Gray in 1972. According to Gray, there are three criteria for evaluating whether an arms race is taking place. The first criterion, namely the presence of two or more parties who are conscious of their antagonism, is easily met in East Asia. The second criterion for an arms race is that the parties involved must structure their armed forces according to the probable effectiveness of their forces in combat with, or as a deterrent to, each other.
