TOKYO - The entire Japanese Cabinet resigned early Tuesday ahead of a vote in parliament expected to elect nationalist Shinzo Abe as the new prime minister with a promise to create a more assertive nation and give its military a larger international role.

m6C中国英语学习网
But the surge in Japan's assertiveness coincides with the spectacular rise of China's clout in the region — risking ever greater competition over resources, political influence and military stature in an stable region.

Beijing reacted testily to Abe's landslide victory in last week's ruling party elections, issuing a terse statement urging the new leader to improve frayed bilateral relations.

He's hinted at that already, publicly acknowledging the need to strengthen ties with China. A top Abe aide on Sunday said setting up a meeting with Chinese leader        Hu Jintao was high on the new leader's agenda.Still, elements of Abe's program could complicate the road to better relations.

Though soft-spoken, Abe has some bold goals: he promises to raise Japan's international stature and revise the country's pacifist constitution to give the military a more prominent role.

He has also pledged to bring more patriotism to schools, and boost Japan's military alliance with the United States — both sore points with the Chinese, who feel that Japanese textbooks gloss over Japan's wartime atrocities, and that the U.S.-Japan alliance is aimed at containing Beijing.Those stands have raised concerns in the region.

"Abe's rhetoric is very dangerous, given China's growing clout in the region," said Hiro Katsumata, a research fellow at the Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies in Singapore."It could prompt China to become coercive, and take a more hard-line approach," Katsumata said. "Today's China won't back down."