Asia’s Cauldron: The South China Sea and the end of a stable Pacific, 18‘ edition. By Robert D. Kaplan. Random House, New York. 2014. ISBN 978-0-8129-9906-8. 225pp. Paperback, $18.

Abstract

The ascending power of China has precipitated a glut of books on the role of China in the 21st Century among which Asia’s Cauldron by Robert D. Kaplan looks at the changing realities of the 21S' century as China rises after decades of slumber and the centre stage of the world moves towards the East. Robert D. Kaplan was chief geopolitical analysts for Stratfor, a private global intelligence firm. till December 2014. Presently, he is a Senior Fellow at the Center for New American Security in Washington D. C. In 2011 and 2012, he was named by Foreign Policy magazine as one of the world's top 100 global thinkers. The book represents an American perspective on the changing power dynamics of the globe as a result of ascending economic and military power of China. The focus of the book is on the South China Sea that holds oil reserves of several billion barrels and an estimated nine hundred trillion cubic feet of natural gas rendering it as the simmering pot of potential conflict hence the book is given the name Asia’s Cauldron. The title page shows a picture where top half consists of Junk, ancient Chinese sailing ship and the bottom half consists of modern cargo ship alluding to the centrality of maritime trade that gives South China Sea its global importance since ancient times.