HOW DOES THE SINO-JAPAN AND SINO-US RIVALRY AFFECT THE COMMUNITY BUILDING PROCESS?

In the process to build a strong institution in Asia-Pacific, there are many challenges arise. Scott Synder (1998) argued that the trialogue: U.S.-Japan-China relations play a crucial part in tackling the stability of institutions in Asia-Pacific; he then mentioned three important points to discuss on the table. Firstly, the management of cross-Strait tensions continues to be a central policy concern among policymakers in Beijing. Although cross-Strait dialogue is the primary method through which such tensions might be alleviated, the Taiwan issue will continue to surface as a critical issue on Beijing's agenda with Tokyo and Washington, both in the context of clarifying and containing the future direction of the U.S.-Japan relationship and as part of the competition between Beijing and Taipei for international support and recognition.

Secondly, the political pressure resulting from slowing economic growth has constrained the ability of the Japanese and Chinese leaderships to respond to the key aspects of Asia's economic crisis. Just when decisive leadership was required in Tokyo, institutional and political constraints paralyzed a decisive policy response to the crisis despite increasing international pressure. Although the leadership in Beijing has been keenly attentive to the potential impact of the Asian financial crisis on the Chinese economy, the crisis has served primarily to narrow the window for effective reform of China's state-owned enterprises. Thirdly, the tensions over the Korean peninsula and the South Asian nuclear tests may provide opportunities for multilateral cooperation among the United States, China, and Japan, but the sensitivity of these issues may also limit the productiveness of coordinated action. Long-term objectives of the United States, China, and Japan regarding the Korean peninsula may conflict, while India's and Pakistan's nuclear tests explicitly challenge the international non-proliferation regime and the structure of influence within global organizations.

Moreover, in nowadays context, since the day Japan is allowed to produce new technology weapon and sell out, China fears that Japan might want to create once again an empire in region, therefore, Sino-Japanese relation posts a lot of questions to the future of sub-regionalism that they are both a member of in the Asia-Pacific.