It is, of course, too early to propose an assessment of the final impact of the Chinese and Indian ascents on the world affairs, as their rise is still an ongoing process and is still eroding the foundation of the current international system. The dynamic side of the question makes us risk both risks of under- and overestimation of China and India's future influence. China and India have gained considerable weight in Asian affairs, to the point that, in the Chinese case, one might wonder about the possibility for a future power transition at the regional level, with the United States in the unenviable role of the declining power. Chinese and Indian expanding interests outside the narrow limits of the Asian region have also grown, mainly thanks to their surging needs for energy and raw materials. This book provides reliable information which indicate the ground trends for the rising competition between China and India.

The rapid modernization of the Chinese Navy is a well-documented reality of the post-Cold War world. In two decades, the People's Liberation Army Navy has evolved from a backward force composed of obsolete platforms into a reasonably modern fleet whose growth is significantly shaking the naval balance in East Asia. The rationale behind China's contemporary rise at sea remains, however, difficult to grasp and few people have tried to see how the current structure of the international system has shaped Chinese choices. This book makes sense of Chinese priorities in its naval modernization in a 'robust' offensive realist framework. Drawing on Barry Posen's works on sources of military doctrine, it argues that the orientation of Beijing's choices concerning its naval forces can essentially be explained by China's position as a potential regional hegemon. Yves-Heng Lim highlights how a rising state develops naval power to fulfil its security objectives, a theoretical perspective that goes farther than the sole Chinese case.

It is, of course, too early to propose an assessment of the final impact of the Chinese and Indian ascents on the world affairs, as their rise is still an ongoing process and is still eroding the foundation of the current international system. The dynamic side of the question makes us risk both risks of under- and overestimation of China and India's future influence. China and India have gained considerable weight in Asian affairs, to the point that, in the Chinese case, one might wonder about the possibility for a future power transition at the regional level, with the United States in the unenviable role of the declining power. Chinese and Indian expanding interests outside the narrow limits of the Asian region have also grown, mainly thanks to their surging needs for energy and raw materials. This book provides reliable information which indicate the ground trends for the rising competition between China and India.