East Asian Naval Weapons Acquisitions in the 1990s: Causes, Consequences, and Responses

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The 1990s saw a sea change in East Asian security concerns. The role of the ocean as a highway for trade and a location of vital resources became critical to the region's economic growth. Protection of territorial waters, the Exclusive Economic Zones established under the UN Law of the Sea, and strategic lines of communication grew in importance. Soon, a significant change in the size and sophistication of many of the region's naval forces began to occur as they acquired modern weapons platforms (ships and aircraft) and weapons systems. This study uses two approaches from quantitative arms race theory, the role of the armaments-tension spiral and that of enduring national rivalries, to examine the hard data on arms races in the region. The changing balance of naval forces has been interpreted in two very different ways. One camp has viewed the development as a largely benign and justifiable modernization of naval forces for legitimate defense purposes. A second camp has warned of a naval arms race in East Asia that will spawn armed conflict. Both camps have often relied on anecdotal evidence and rhetoric. While the argument was muted by the 1997 economic crisis, many naval projects have continued to move forward. Meconis and Wallace address the meaning of East Asian naval weapons acquisitions in the 1990s in a more formal and serious manner than any previous attempts, and they propose measures that might prevent naval conflict.

Reviews

.,."a handy reference work for the specialist....should be on the shelves of reference librarians."-Journal of Third World Studies
.,."will be of value to anyone interrested in naval capabilities, rivalries, and the potential for maritime conflict in East Asia."-The Northern Mariner
...a handy reference work for the specialist....should be on the shelves of reference librarians.-Journal of Third World Studies
...will be of value to anyone interrested in naval capabilities, rivalries, and the potential for maritime conflict in East Asia.-The Northern Mariner
..."a handy reference work for the specialist....should be on the shelves of reference librarians."-Journal of Third World Studies
..."will be of value to anyone interrested in naval capabilities, rivalries, and the potential for maritime conflict in East Asia."-The Northern Mariner

Author Bio

CHARLES A. MECONIS is a founder and the Research Director of the Institute for Global Security Studies, an independent, non-profit research and education organization in Seattle. He is also a consultant to New York University's Center for War, Peace, and the News Media. His area of expertise is maritime security in the Asia-Pacific region. Throughout the 1990s he has played an important role in regional conferences and dialogues on that issue. MICHAEL D. WALLACE is Professor of Political Science at the University of British Columbia. He has written numerous books and articles on the causes of war, arms races, the risk of accidental war, and nuclear arms control. He is a member of Pugwash, and is on the editorial board of several academic journals. His most recent publications include articles on behavioral and cognitive factors in conflict escalation, fissile plutonium disposal options, and a mathematical model of Asian arms races.