"Western interests in the Asia-Pacific region have dramatically expanded over the last few years; particularly in terms of economic relationships and commercial investment. While economic development is predicted to continue in the region, the assumption of political stability on which it depends is clouded major security uncertainties lurking in the background, these could undermine the relative stability the region has come to expect, and new strains and fissures could develop in the region that would likely reverberate elsewhere. Featuring nineteen individual country profiles, which makes a unique contribution to the existing literature, this volume seeks to shed light on the key political and security factors and geopolitical trends that bear monitoring and to point out new trends that have greater significance in the post-Cold War environment."--BOOK JACKET.