ABSTRACT
The rise of China has posed a signifi cant challenge to the primacy of US power in Asia. China has become the main source of economic development in the region and seems likely to sit at the top of a new economic hierarchy in Asia. At the same time the old security order is still in place. America’s hierarchical security order involves a system of bilateral alliances, and these coexist with the new economic order that China is creating. The rise of China creates new problems for Asian states that want to maintain economic growth as well as peace. Often Japan, South Korea, Australia, Singapore, the Philippines and even Vietnam rely on the US for security, while they are heavily dependent upon China for their trade and economic growth. This poses a tough question, that is, how do they manage their relations with the US and China, and how can they avoid being forced to make a hard choice between China and the US? To deal with this question, the best option is for them to reject any imposed choice from the great powers; instead, it is best to develop Asian regionalism through multilateral institutions within which the power of both the US and China will be constrained. Such a regional approach is different from the situation in the Cold War during which small powers were under pressure to switch their positions.
