Over the past few weeks and months things have been looking up for most of the people in Asia, at least on the political front if not on the economic side.
China, the big brother of the region, appears to be softening its tone as it tries harder to meet the high expectations that the world has of a country with such might, both economically and militarily.
Just days after Xi Jinping was voted into the top spot in the country as President of the People’s Republic, some positive news started to emerge in regard to the issue of the hotly disputed islands that are called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China.
The waters off the uninhabited islands in the East China Sea are believed to be rich in oil and gas, and over the past few months before Mr Xi’s appointment, the sabre rattling had become very noisy indeed.
Things reached a point where Japan and its close ally, United States, were digging out old documents to try to make sure that treaties included the protection of these islands, in of any unforeseen events or circumstances. No one needed to spell out what those might be.
So there was relief all round when General Liu Yuan, a senior People’s Liberation Army (PLA) official and someone who reportedly is close to the new leader, warned of the dangers of a war with Japan. It was one of the most positive pieces of news the region had heard in more than six months from China.
It was a sharp contrast to the rhetoric that we had been hearing just a few months ago when the political pundits were predicting that the region was likely to face another storm with China likely to assert its authority over the islands.
The hot and then cold movement by China seems to have created a stir in the region nonetheless. Japan wanted to make sure of its position and decided to hold talks with the United States in case things turned for the worse.
And surely no one can blame Japan for exploring all its options; after all, Japan has been on the receiving end of this game for the most part. Both Japan and the United States over the past week held very high-level discussions on ways the two countries would react in case there was an armed conflict in the East China Sea.
Shigeru Iwasaki, head of the Japanese Self-Defence Forces’ joint staff, and Samuel Locklear, commander of US forces in the Asia-Pacific, were expected to agree that the allies would accelerate the drafting of the plans when they met in Hawaii on Thursday and Friday.
China, as always, said that it did not appreciate “outside pressure” on this territorial matter, but then who is to blame for such talks being held?
The dispute in recent months had escalated to the point where both sides scrambled fighter jets while patrol ships shadowed each other, raising fears that an unintended collision or other incident could lead to a broader clash.
Up until now the United States has been affirming its view that sovereignty issues should be resolved peacefully through dialogue. But when patrol boats, fighter jets and other means are added to the mix, who in their right mind would not want to hold talks in order to review what might happen in a possible conflict?
To top this off, it is highly likely that participants in the Asean summit in Brunei will be raising the issue of the South China Sea and the tensions that have been stoked mainly by China in the past year or so.
This would be another setback for China, which has said that this issue is something for the region to resolve without the intervention of the other powers. But once again, don’t blame the region’s small and relatively powerless countries for seeking the help of a larger, more powerful nation to support their cause.
Asia remains very reliant on China for its economic growth, and with the global economy not in the best shape, both China and the region need each other to pull themselves out.
The world today needs the help of China and other emerging economies to lead it out of the economic mess, so it is in the best interest of all parties to keep their cool and resolve any disputed in a mature and non-violent way.
Therefore the messages that are now coming out of China, if they signal a genuine change in tone, are to be applauded. Many in the region hope that China will be as good as its word and avoid the temptation to revert to its old role of playing the bully.