03118nam a22002417a 4500020001800000041000900018082002200027100002600049245009400075260005700169300000900226504004000235520226400275546001302539650004802552650002902600650003702629650005002666650005002716650003902766650002702805650004402832  a9789383445783  aeng-  a327.52051 bKUM-S  aKumar, Sudeepeauthor  aShinzo Abe and Japan-China security relations :birritants & legacies /cDr. Sudeep Kumar  aNew Delhi :bIndian Council of World Affairs,c2023.  a46p.  aIncludes bibliographical references  aThe paper examines Japan-China security relations during the second administration of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe from 2012. This was also the year when Chinese President Xi Jinping came into power. For the Abe-Xi Era (2012-20), no comprehensive assessment is available regarding the evolving Chinese grand strategy and Japan's strategic responses within the larger policy framework of Trump's East Asia policy. The rise of these two strong Asian political leaders of world's second and third largest economies initiated a series of backchannel efforts to normalise their contemporary bilateral relations. As a result, at the 2014 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Beijing, their 'quiet diplomacy' facilitated the brief meeting of both leaders. On Xi's official invitation, Abe visited Beijing again in 2018 in pursuit of a major breakthrough in bilateral relations. This period saw Abe proactively involved in diplomatic manoeuvrings to safeguard major bilateral and regional issues such as the 'bilateral history problem', 'core contentious issues', 'rise of China', and 'nuclear-capable North Korean missile program' and so on. On the other hand, China's rising economic and military power emboldened Xi to decide the future direction of bilateral relations vis-à-vis Japan and the United States. This period was also to see American President Donald Trump (2017-2021) and his transactional policies further complicating the multilayered Japan-China security relationship. The strategic competition between China and the United States led to a paradigm shift where Japan, as the defence ally of the United States, was adapting to the evolving Chinese grand strategy in the multi-polar Indo-Pacific. Japan wanted to remain a 'tier-1' power and planned hike in the defence budget, rapid military modernisation, and increasing joint military training in the region. It seems that Japan's strategic response to the rise of China during this period faced a crucial question, i.e. whether to kowtow to Xi's building a community of common destiny. In this backdrop, this paper analyses the continuity and changes in Abe's security policy towards Xi-led China and possible implications for peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.   aEnglish.  aNational securityxGovernment policyzJapan  aForeign relationsxChina  aChina—Foreign relationsxJapan  aJapan—Politics and governmentx21st century  aChina—Politics and governmentx21st century  aSecurity, InternationalxEast Asia  aGeopoliticsxEast Asia  aIndo-Pacific Region—Strategic aspects