The Transformation of International Relations in East Asia at the Turn from the Twentieth Century to the Twenty-first Century

The role of various institutions and countries in the transformation of the world order in East Asia during the period of the late twentieth century through the teens of the twentieth century is examined. It is noted that at the end of the 20th century, the American model of the regionalization process, carried out within the framework of APEC, dominated. However, due to changes in the US foreign policy doctrine and the Asian economic crisis of 1997–1998, APEC, in the early 2000s, began to give way to ASEAN+, in which Japan occupied the leading position. Since the mid-2000s, China has been becoming stronger thanks to successful economic reforms and the use of various integration platforms. As a result, China began to promote its own model of globalization and regionalization in the region, which challenged the American order not only in East Asia, but also in the Asia-Pacific region. In the late 2000s, Washington sought to regain lost positions in the region by promoting the Trans-Pacific Partnership integration project, which intensified the struggle between the leading powers for dominance in the region. As a result, in the 2010s, ASEAN+ and Japan began developing the RCEP project, while China began to promote the Belt and Road international cooperation organization. As a result of the transformation of international relations caused by the movement of the world from unipolar to multipolar, there has been a change in the transformation of the geopolitical situation in East Asia. The United States returned to “traditional” methods of confrontation, increasing tension in the region and the world.