Japan and China in Northeast Asia: seeking strategic balance

• Volynchuk A.B.

  Doctor of Political Science, Associate Professor; e-mail: i-abv@yandex.ru
  Institute of history, archaeology and ethnography of the peoples of the Far-East (FEBRAS)
  Vladivostok. Russia

• Volynchuk Ya.A.

  Candidate of Political Science, Associate Professor of the Chair of Management; e-mail: FrolovaJana@yandex.ru
  Vladivostok State University of Economics and Service
  Vladivostok. Russia

Russia’s desire to restore its influence in the world leads to an increase in security threats. They will arise in the regions that are adjacent to the state territory of Russia. Today, the global center of political and economic activity is moving from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Here, the positions of modern Russia are most vulnerable. Therefore, Northeast Asia should become the main priority of Russian foreign policy. It is necessary not only to audit the forces and means that the country has in Northeast Asia, but also to understand the geopolitical situation in the region. It is necessary to take into account the goals, objectives, resource opportunities and the nature of interstate relations of the countries of the region. In this context, the most interesting is the assessment of the foreign policy interests of Japan and China. These countries are regional geopolitical competitors. In the article, the character of the geopolitical aspirations of Japan and China - the economic and political leaders of North-East Asia and the Asia-Pacific region - has been studied. Their main goals in the transformation of the regional security architecture are revealed. The resource capacities of the regional actors that they need to achieve their national interests in the formation of a new regional security system, taking into account the changing balance of power, are estimated.

The author’s approach to the analysis of Japan’s and China’s geopolitical rivalry in the Northeast Asia is built on the results of an examination of the geopolitical statuses of states based on assessments of the resource potential, economic power and the “quality” of national interests.

Keywords: North-East Asia, Japan, China, regional security, geopolitical interests, balance of power.