East Of India South Of China

This volume will explore the role of India and China in regional geopolitics, with a focus on Southeast Asia. It highlights some of the key events and turning points in the evolving equations since the times of Jawaharlal Nehru, Indias first prime minister. In six chapters, it shows how Indias prominent position in devising the regional architecture in Asia was diluted after the Bandung era, especially after the Indo-China war in 1962. The author maintains that, relative to its earlier status as a major champion of Asian regionalism, India had become a political and diplomatic non-entity, if not a pariah, in Southeast Asia by the 1980s. While China emerged as the most important political entity in the region over the next three decades, India gradually made substantial inroads into the ASEAN scene, more so after its emergence as a 'rising' power in the post-Cold War era and economic reforms of 1991. 00This book revisits the question of contemporary Asian security from an Indian vantage point, posing critical questions about the future of regional leadership in Southeast Asia, and demonstrating how it depends as much on the India-China-Southeast Asia relationship as on China-US-Japan relations.

This volume represents the latest research in cultural anthropology on an ascendant and globalizing China, covering the many different dimensions of China’s ascendancy both within China itself and beyond. It focuses not only on the real and perceived successes of China in the past four decades, but also on the difficulties, tensions, and dangers that have emerged as a result of rapid economic development: class polarization, state expansion, psychological distress, and environmental degradation. Including contributions by some of the most well-known cultural anthropologists of China, as well as rising innovative younger scholars, this book documents and analyzes China’s multifaceted transformations in the modern era—both within Chinese society and in Chinese relations with the outside world. It features the unique perspective of anthropology, with its on-the-ground deep cultural immersion through long-term fieldwork, coupled with a macrolevel global perspective, a strong historical perspective, and theoretically engaged analyses to present a balanced account of China’s ascendancy. Anthropology of Ascendant China: Histories, Attainments, and Tribulations is suitable for students and scholars in Anthropology, Sociology, History, Political Science, and East Asian Studies, as well as those working on contemporary Chinese society and culture more broadly.

South-East Asia is home to one of the most diverse reptile faunas on Earth. A Field Guide to the Reptiles of South-East Asia is the first comprehensive guide to the snakes, lizards, crocodiles, tortoises and turtles of the region. Covering more than 1000 species and subspecies in thorough detail, this field guide provides authoritative, up-to-date information on identification, habitat, behaviour, subspecies, distribution and status. The informative text explains the behaviour and morphology of reptiles, as well as how to measure and identify species according to scale counts and other anatomical features. South-East Asia is one of the most important ecotourism destinations in the world, with an expanding local market as wildlife conservation assumes greater prominence locally. This guide is essential reading for anyone interested in the wildlife of the region - wildlife enthusiasts, students, conservation planners and specialists alike.

Though considerable research literature is now available on China–India relations, most of it still follows a conventional narrative, viewing the relationship through the narrow conflictual prism limited to South Asia than in the new, larger perspective, especially in the context of emerging East Asian dynamics. This book offers comprehensive analyses of some of these issues in papers addressing two broad themes. One, significant trends in the relationship between China and India on a range of issues, including economic development models, their military strategies, and the boundary dispute; and two, how others are responding to the rise of India and China and their impact on East Asia. Together, the chapters constitute a comprehensive study on both China–India relations and their concurrent rise, including a variety of perspectives and methodologies. Written by some of the top experts on the subject from India, China, Japan, and Taiwan and covering a broad range of issues, the book will generate considerable interest in understanding this relatively neglected dimension of today’s East Asia.

Southeast Asia is rapidly becoming a competitive space for geopolitical rivalries. The growth in China-U.S. strategic competition is creating deep anxiety among Southeast Asia leaders, China's rising power is felt across every corner of Southeast Asia, and many leaders are worried about the long-term implications of rising Chinese influence in the region. The United States' increasingly assertive approach towards China is welcomed by some governments, but the growth in tensions is creating deep anxiety about a possible new Cold War. How can the region prevent a repeat of the divisions and bitter rivalries of the previous Cold War? This book argues that Southeast Asia is emerging as an open, autonomous region, where small and middle powers can maintain their sovereignty and shape the regional order. Despite new superpower pressures, the region is moving towards a multi-polar order, with greater agency for Southeast Asian countries. The key to Southeast Asia's future may be other external powers – particularly Japan, Australia, India, and Europe – who can provide ASEAN governments with more diverse partnerships, enabling them to avoid the bipolar blocs of superpower rivalries. The book argues that external partners are helping to shape the geopolitical order by supporting ASEAN leadership and diluting the influence of great powers. Southeast Asian countries also have remarkable capacity to manage asymmetrical relations and balance external powers. The book describes the region's history of managing great power relations, drawing on historical and contemporary cases. By examining the dynamics between Southeast Asia and external powers, the book predicts that the region's future will look entirely different from its Cold War past.

China and East Asian Strategic Dynamics: the Shaping of a New Regional Order, edited by Mingjiang Li and Dongmin Lee, examines how China's remarkable economic growth and its proactive diplomatic efforts in recent years have not only shored up its importance in global issues, but also induced a transformation of the strategic dynamics in East Asia. The authors argue that major power relations in the region appear to be driven by some new momentum along with the changing international environment. The contributors of this edited volume are well-known scholars in their areas of specialty, and the book is divided into five parts. The first part discusses China's soft and hard power in East Asia. The second examines China and the strategic interactions between major powers; this particular section is devoted to discussion on the strategic responses of the major regional powers_the United States, Japan, Korea, India and ASEAN_to China's rise. Part three focuses on China's strategic approach to East Asian regionalism. Of particular note are China's active leadership role in institution-building efforts, strategic calculations, and preference for an informal approach. The fourth section analyzes the Cross-Taiwan Strait relations and their impact on both China and East Asia. The final section of China and East Asian Strategic Dynamics addresses the issue of China and maritime order in East Asia. China and East Asian Strategic Dynamics: the Shaping of a New Regional Order, edited by Mingjiang Li and Dongmin Lee, is a pioneering work. Given that the rise of China is has been a prominent issue in politics and economics worldwide, this edited collection is essential for a wide audience of policy-makers, academics, and students alike.