At the annual IISS Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore in late May, U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter presented a vision of an Asian security order in which "everyone rises." In response, Chinese delegate Senior Col. Zhou Bo declared, somewhat menacingly, that "the region has been peaceful and stable just because of China's great restraint," and suggested that America should back off.
The exchanges at the Shangri-La Dialogue, sponsored by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, indicated that while Washington identifies an inclusive order as the key to Asia's peace and prosperity, China increasingly appears to view an order that does not center on itself as a threat. It also expects other countries, including the U.S., to defer to what Beijing unilaterally defines as its regional prerogatives. Whether the American or Chinese perspective prevails will do much to determine the prospects for peace in the world's emerging center of power.
