Implications of the Ukraine crisis for security, non-proliferation and deterrence in North East Asia

The Ukraine crisis has been a “wake up” call for Europe but its implication in Asia should be also be considered. The Russian “coup de force” in Ukraine has created a psychological trauma in Western countries not only amongst political and military leaders but also in the general population by its reminiscence of Cold war thinking and by pointing to the risk of a military conflict in Europe. Moreover the Russian attempt to change the borders by force could create a dangerous precedent and produce an undesirable “butterfly effects” in the rest of the world. In North East Asia, the stability in a context of rising powers and proliferation risks, relies on a status quo based upon the partition of the Korean peninsula, a de facto autonomy of Taiwan and a Japanese administration over the Senkaku-Diaoyu islands. As the status quo is increasingly challenged by revisionist powers, the question is worth to be raised: what are the implications of the Ukraine crisis for security, nonproliferation, and deterrence in North East Asia?

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