Lessons from Europe a century ago

World War I broke out on July 28 exactly 100 years ago. It claimed more than 9 million combatants' lives, the second deadliest war in history.

Referring to the events that led to the Great War, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has likened the tensions between Japan and China to the relationship between Germany as a rising power challenging the United Kingdom 100 years ago. He certainly had a point when he said that trading relations and investments couldn't stop the brewing conflict in Europe a century ago from engulfing the world in war.

People throughout Asia must reflect on the hard lessons Europeans have learned from the two world wars. Europeans are revisiting the Great War, which broke out 100 years ago when a Bosnian Serb named Gavrilo Princip assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne. The failure of the European leadership to prevent the war brought calamity to Europe.