A US Security Approach in the Asia-Pacific Region in the Age of Globalization

Globalization has not produced a safer world. Rather, there have been occasions when the tools of globalization have been misappropriated for the opposite purpose. The most gruesome example of which was the terrorist act of 11 September. Its impact was shocking and the tremors are still being felt. In this article, Lt. Gen. H.C. Stackpole, U.S.M.C. (retired), president of the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Honolulu, examines the impact of globalization on the Asia-Pacific region and its security landscape. He focuses on the implications for security in Northeast Asia and in particular, on the challenges facing the US– Japan alliance as well as the perceptions that South Korea, China and Japan have of the US. He concludes that multilateral efforts are essential to deal with the shift in security paradigm.