Publication

This policy brief analyzes Chinese perspectives on the risk posed by potential incidents and collisions involving Chinese and Japanese vessels in the East China Sea, as well as on potential crisis management mechanisms that might help to avoid the escalation of tensions and build trust between Tokyo and Beijing in such events. The author argues that, despite the tensions in recent years, many Chinese analysts and officials are keenly aware of the potentially catastrophic consequences of such incidents and that they have proposed a number of concrete measures to enable a return to a more cooperative relationship between China and Japan.