Asia's Cauldron: The South China Sea and the End of a Stable Pacifi

Engaging and informative

This is the most informative book on South China Sea I have seen. It is written in an easy language, with a couple of explanatory maps, and the detailed chapters on each and every country deal with specific historical and political issues the country has to face. For example, how different problems for Taiwan and Vietnam are, and how different the dynamics of their relation with China is.

Fundamental, this excellent, well informed and profoundly thought of should be read and meditated by all Foreign Ministers around the world

「南シナ海、波高し」、という話題性にはピタリ。ただし本の構成は、周辺各国の現代史ルポだ。問題の背景説明としては、評価できる。だが紛争海域の現状分析というニュース面では、深みに欠ける。たとえば、尖閣諸島の件に関しても、古い中国の歴史の記述があるだけで、現代に入ってからの動きは記されておらず、領有権の本質を知るうえでは適切とはいえない。

I have the hardback, which is 191 pages not including notes and index. Well-written and an easy read. I am familiarizing myself with China and this book is part of that effort. I gave it 4, and not 5, stars only because it was published in 2014. Despite this, I think the information in the book is still quite useful. The author projects a future in which both China and the U.S. have financial and internal political constraints, which seems prescient.First, the book outlines an Indian influence in Vietnam of which I was unaware. The French use of the term “Indochina” was accurate.Next, the US media and intelligentsia may have what the author describes as a humanist dilemma in the South China Sea since there may be no clear moral objective in the competing claims to this area. As you read the media’s reports on this area keep this in mind.The author draws an interesting parallel between China’s 21st century approach to the South China Sea and America’s approach in the 19th century to the Caribbean. One major difference, but similarities exist in the two cases. The major difference is that the South China Sea is much more important to world trade.Vietnam and Malaysia each get their own chapters. Vietnam has a long and sometimes contentious history with China. In the 9 years since the book was published I think Vietnam”s economic importance has only increased. The author observes that Vietnam may have moved on from the Vietnam War better than the U.S. has. I didn’t realize how cobbled together Malaysia was by the British as Britain withdrew from this area.Lee Kuan Yew was the seminal figure in the formation of Singapore. A truly fascinating figure. The author describes him as “The Good Autocrat”. I have put one of Mr. Lee’s books on my reading list.Next the author looks at the Philippines. He doesn’t paint a real hopeful picture. It’s culture seems more South American than Asian. This is perhaps the result of Spanish colonization amplified by the geography being a lot of islands.He spends some time and care reviewing Taiwan and rightly so in my opinion. Taiwan’s defensive position is aided by the “stopping power of water” per John Mearshetmer. Here is where the waning strength of the U.S. Navy will find its greatest challenge.He finishes with an overview of the physical constraints imposed in the South China Sea and a consideration of possible changes in policy created by economic and political changes in the U.S. and China. He leans on input from Australian authorities in this analysis. There’s a short Epilogue that I speculate was included to say something about Indonesia.If the subject interests you, I highly recommend the book.