Vzhodna Azija

East Asia, part of the world’s largest and most populous continent, is taking on an increas-ingly important role in global political, economic and security matters. While regional economic integration has flourished over the past two decades, cooperation in the secu-rity domain remains very modest, which is – considering the regional flashpoints, such as the Taiwan Strait, North Korea, the East and the South China Sea – a matter of great concern. Even though China’s rise has accelerated the processes of regionalism and the formation of new integrations, East Asian countries remain increasingly anxious about Chinese strategic intentions and ambitions. The article argues that the absence of trust in the face of increasing military spending, is creating a security dilemma, which is very difficult to resolve due to the region’s geostrategic importance. Without a US presence, the region would be unstable, and likewise, the strained relations between the US and China endanger regional stability, too. While the Chinese government opposes the US’s presence in the region and makes no secret of its ambitions to create a new multilateral security architecture, more and more countries seem to side with the American defini-tion of China as a revisionist power, challenging the existing world order.