Revitalization of the U.S.-Japan Alliance and a Rising China: Adjusting Engagement and Balancing Policies during the Clinton Administration
Open AccessWhy did the Clinton Administration downplay its balancing policy towards China in the 1990s? The Clinton Administration attempted a two-track approach of “integrate and insure” and “engage and balance” in response to opportunities and concerns posed by a rising China in the 1990s, as noted by security strategists such as Joseph Nye and Michael Green. Nye and Green explained that revitalizing the U.S.-Japan alliance was a central balancing or insurance policy for a rising China. However, the Clinton Administration’s China policy has more recently been described as an “engagement policy” or “era of engagement.” Mike Mochizuki has noted incrementalism in the revitalization process of the U.S.-Japan alliance, as seen following the Tokyo Declaration in April 1996.This thesis concludes the Clinton Administration recognized that further revitalization of the alliance or a stricter security approach to a rising China would cause a security dilemma, since the U.S. and Japan witnessed fiercely negative Chinese reactions to the revitalization of the alliance. In other words, the Clinton Administration was concerned that the revitalization of the U.S.-Japan alliance and firmer security policy would destabilize the region. Therefore, it downplayed the balancing aspects of alliance revitalization and advanced a “constructive strategic partnership” with China, even though China increasingly posed security concerns regionally and globally. The Clinton Administration’s vision of the Asia-Pacific region was based on the balance of power for strengthening cooperation, avowing chaos, and fostering economic expansion. Therefore, engagement policy towards China and revitalization of the U.S.-Japan alliance, as well as remaining ambiguities in the revitalization process, were all needed to avoid causing a security dilemma and to maintain peace and stability. Accordingly, the Clinton Administration made adjustments in its alliance and China policy, placing a greater emphasis on engagement and a lesser emphasis on balancing, to manage the post-Cold War triangular relations with Japan and China.
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