Part 1 Introduction to the missile defense debate: missile defenses - the issues; Far East regional survey; Soviet presence in the Far East; the European dimension - comparisons and contrasts with Asia; Soviet military doctrine - strategic and tactical implications for missile defense. Part 2 Missile defenses and Asia - specific country analyses: missile defenses and Japanese security; the dragon and the shield - missile defense and the People's Republic of China; regional superpower equations; the troubled alliance - SDI and ANZUS; other regional actors. Part 3 Conclusions.

An in-depth study of the military, economic, and political implications of the strategic and tactical missile defences for the Asian-Pacific region. It offers recent research on the status of SDI and Asian-Pacific countries and offers an introduction to the SDI debate and Europe.