Naval and air standoffs, sabre-rattling and accusations of underhand dealings are heightening tensions in the Asia-Pacific region and causing a security dilemma. It does not have to be like this. Diplomacy and referral to international dispute resolution mechanisms can make a difference.

Unless information exchange is improved and serious attempts are made to understand all sides’ points of view, the United States and its allies, including Japan, China, Russia and North Korea will be mesmerised by threats and imagined scenarios of doom, and will continue to build defensive walls. Remember, this was how international affairs were managed during the Cold War. Now once more, countries are rebuilding their arsenals and engaging in an arms race.

William Burns and Richard Moore, the chiefs of the CIA and MI6, wrote an extraordinary joint article published in the Financial Times. “There is no question that the international world order — the balanced system that has led to relative peace and stability and delivered rising living standards, opportunities and prosperity — is under threat in a way we haven’t seen since the Cold War.” They referred to “an unprecedented array of threats” starting with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. They highlighted the rise of China as “the main intelligence and political challenge of the century”, and said they had reorganised services to reflect that priority.

From the other side of the fence, China’s President Xi Jinping, addressing members of the........

© Pearls and Irritations