The EDCA contextualized

THIS nation is now caught in a tug-of-war pitting the geo- political ambitions of two mighty nations each vying for the protection of their respective spheres of political and economic interests in this part of the world. Using tried and tested hegemonic strategies of tactical alliances reminiscent of the first half of the last century which brought about a series of hot and cold wars, the small players in this continent are now enticed to join the ranks of both camps. Today China’s influence in the Mekong Delta is pretty much established even as U.S hegemony in this country and East Asia is acknowledged.

For a historical perspective, China the colossus of Asia swept over central plains of Europe with the legendary Mongolian golden horde of Genghis Khan even as the pirate Limahong threatened the small nations of Southeast Asia in the eighteenth and nineteenth. In the twentieth century however China was colonized by the Europeans and the Japanese who surrounded it with vassal states like Mongolia and enclaves like Macau and Hong Kong. After the Great War China was able to consolidate her possessions having secured its northern and eastern borders that includes Mongolia Tibet etc. Today she wants to secure its southern borders in the China Sea.