In 2005 East Asian regional strategy is once again a hot topic for policy makers, diplomats and journalists. As China begins to reassert herself regionally and as her economy revives to challenge conceptions of her place in the world, Japan, Russia, Korea (North and South) and the United States are busy reassessing their relative geo-strategic and military positions in the region. For the historian, this rivalry finds a particular echo. One hundred years ago, as the Russo-Japanese war raged, the first major naval engagement of the 20th century took place in the Korea/Japan Straits – the Battle of Tsushima of 27-28 May 1905. In this battle, the Russian Baltic Fleet under Admiral Rozhestventsky was completely destroyed...