ASIAN PACIFIC – GLOBAL CONFLICT POTENTIAL

The paper deals with the Asia-Pacifi c region, which is, with its geopolitical andgeostrategic characteristics, one of the most important areas of the modern world, andthe dynamics and character of processes that take place in it have huge implications oninternational politics. The underlying hypothesis of this work is that powerful potentialsof the Asia Pacifi c open up the possibility that it will becomes a true leader of the overallprogress in the world, but the confl icts that exist in that area, of which the most destructiveterritorial disputes are, also have the potential for global scale confrontation.The geostrategic signifi cance, transport corridors, huge reserves of oil and gas,the highest concentration of human resources, as well as high technological achievementsmake the Asia Pacifi c region one of the most powerful drivers of the developmentand progress of the modern world. Such a unique position of the Asian Pacifi c contributesto a strong concentration of the interests of international politics in the region. Of course,the Asia Pacifi c is a place where the most important geopolitical and geo-strategic interestsof the most important actors of contemporary international politics are in confl ict.These circumstances make the region one of the most vulnerable areas of the modernworld in the security sense. Primary causes of the confl ict are economic as well as geostrategiccharacteristics of the area. On the top of the numerous and complex Asian issues,are confl icts between China and the US, which primarily determine the character ofrelations in the region.Authors conclude that US-Chinese rivalry and competition with a progressivetendency are unstoppable and with their complexity are hardly controlled, so there is areal danger of radicalization of their relations, with simultaneous radicalization of relationsacross the region. All these contribute to the fact that relations in the Asia Pacifi cregion are very complicated, often vague and unbalanced and potentially explosive,pushing a region of enormous strategic importance into the labyrinth of multiple instabilitywhose implications would have a powerful refl ection on security in the world. Thearrival of the new US administration announces the toughening of the US bidding withChina as its main competitor, which is causing uncertainty about future security trends inthe Asia Pacifi c region.