The Asia-Pacific region has emerged as the hub of global geo-political, geo-economic and geo-strategic significance in the post-Cold War period. The rise of China and the resurgence of India will be the hallmark for the next 50 years. How this surge in power is accommodated by the incumbent powers like the United States and Japan, and how the new regional powers like China and India manage the power politics that emerge will be the key determinants of regional stability.

This volume examines the national maritime doctrines as well as the nuclear weapons developments at sea of the four major powers in the Asia-Pacific, namely, China, India, Japan and the United States, to see if the evolving dynamic is a cooperative or a competitive one. In particular, the volume looks at the evolving paradigms of maritime transformation in strategy and technology; the emergent new maritime doctrines and evolving force postures in the naval orders of battle; the role and operations of nuclear navies in the Asia-Pacific; and the implications and impact of nuclear weapons, ballistic missiles and sea-based missile defence responses in the region.

Contents:

• Issues, Trends and Paradigms in Maritime Asia-Pacific
• National Maritime Doctrines and Capabilities
• Nuclear Weapons and Missile Defences: The Maritime Dimension in the Asia-Pacific

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Readership: Policy makers, academics, research analysts and students interested in maritime security in the Asia-Pacific region.

"The world's maritime future is likely to be determined in large measure in the Asia-Pacific, particularly by the developing relationship between the four major maritime powers of the area, China, India, Japan and the US. This relationship, in turn, will be decided by the way in which they react to each other's naval policies and programmes and to how they respond, individually and collectively, to strategic developments in the area. In this important book, some of the world's leading maritime analysts begin the task of exploring a topic crucial for the world's future."

Professor Geoffrey Till Author of Seapower: A Guide for the Twenty-First Century

"East Asia and the Pacific Rim are likely to be to the Twenty-First Century what Europe and the Atlantic Rim were to the Twentieth: the main locus of economic growth and thus the center of considerable potential conflict. This book looks in depth at how the four largest actors in the area, the United States, China, Japan, and India, are developing their naval power to act in this essentially maritime theater of future operations."

Norman Friedman Author of Seapower and Strategy

"This volume is timely and meaningful. It deals with the relations between the incumbent powers of the US and Japan and the new regional powers of China and India with the aim of establishing if a cooperative or competitive regime is developing, The concluding remarks regarding the balanced accrual of both hard and soft power for enhancing stability is enlightening. However, I question the view that China has 'hegemonic ambitions' and Japan has 'less ambitious objectives'"

Professor Ji Guoxing Shanghai Jiaotong University

"In a region which encompasses vitally important waterways and where economies are booming, maritime concerns would necessarily be at the forefront of strategic thinking. The editors and authors by their erudite analysis have succeeded in broadening one's perspective of the maritime dilemmas and insecurities that the littoral states face. The multifarious bilateral and regional issues have also been addressed in a most comprehensive manner."

Vice-Admiral P J Jacob AVSM, VSM, Former Vice Chief of Naval Staff, Indian Navy and Member of National Security Advisory Board, Government of India

�The Evolving Maritime Balance of Power in the Asia-Pacific is a well-written and insightful book. It provides a valuable introduction to the present maritime balance of power in the Asia-Pacific by outlining the maritime doctrines/strategies and arms capability of the current four major powers in the region. A must-read for the student of international relations."

Masahiro Akiyama Chairman, Ocean Policy Research Foundation, Japan

"Lawrence W Prabhakar and his coeditors Joshua Ho and Sam Bateman have done a commendable analysis. The analyses of the editors and the contributing authors have been rigorous and critical. The blend of the themes to the contributions to the volume is indeed a splendid effort. This book is highly recommended to the maritime security community of professionals, policy research analysts and the academia."

Vice-Admiral (Retd) R B Suri PVSM, AVSM, VSM, Former Chief of Personnel, Indian Navy

"The attractiveness of the volume lies in the effective marrying of International Relations theory and foreign policy and the highlighting of the crucial role that nuclear weapons play in the evolving regional power dynamics. The chapters are well-written and they offer a wealth of insights on naval power, Asia-Pacific balance of power, and evolving international and regional order in the 21st century. A must read for all those interested in the dynamics of Asian balance of power in all its broader manifestations and connotations."

Professor T V Paul McGill University

"It brings a fresh approach combining both theoretical and operational aspects. In addition, the new threats of non-state players, international terrorism and evolving notions of sea control are examined to good effect. A most useful addition to the literature on the subject!"