Japan caught between two sides<\/p>\n
Japan finds itself walking the tightrope between the United
\nStates and the emerging markets of East Asia. Suvendrini Kakuchi
\nof Inter Press Service reports.<\/p>\n
TOKYO: In the run-up to the second summit of Pacific Rim
\ncountries in Osaka later this year, Japan finds itself caught
\nbetween its need to keep Washington happy and to woo new trading
\npartners in East Asia.<\/p>\n
At issue is the sensitive question of whether the Asia Pacific
\nEconomic Cooperation (APEC) forum or the East Asian Economic
\nCaucus (EAEC) should take the lead in representing the interests
\nof East Asia's economic tigers.<\/p>\n
Southeast Asia is soon going to overtake the United States as
\nJapan's biggest trading partner, but Japan still needs to appease
\nWashington for security and trade reasons. It was reluctantly
\nthat Tokyo seems to have decided not to attend a meeting of the
\nAssociation of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in a Thai resort
\ntown last month.<\/p>\n
That meeting was to have been a precursor to the Malaysian
\nEAEC initiative that was shot down by the United States in favor
\nof the larger Pacific Rim APEC. Japan had to reluctantly go
\nalong, although it had earlier voiced support for EAEC.<\/p>\n
Some analysts have called the EAEC a \"non-Caucasian caucus\"
\nbecause it would exclude the United States, Australia and Canada.
\nNon-ASEAN members and potential EAEC partners, South Korea and
\nChina, were invited to the Thailand meeting.<\/p>\n
Tokyo had pushed for the inclusion of Australia and New
\nZealand in the ASEAN guest list to make it look less like an EAEC
\ninauguration, but Thailand rejected the proposal.<\/p>\n
Despite the growing importance of Asia's booming economies to
\nJapan, regional experts say security ties with the United States
\nremains a priority for the country which is still greatly
\ndependent on the post-war U.S. defense umbrella.<\/p>\n
Although Tokyo has waffled on EAEC before, its rejection of
\nthe ASEAN invitation is the first clear rejection of the EAEC.
\nMalaysian Mahathir Mohamad argues that APEC is dominated by
\nwestern powers and East Asia needs an economic bloc it can call
\nits own.<\/p>\n
The United States wants to turn APEC into a free trade area by
\nthe year 2020, largely because its manufacturers would benefit
\nfrom being plugged into the big market of the 21st century. But
\nSoutheast Asian leaders fear their independence would be
\njeopardized and smaller ASEAN countries would be swamped under
\nthat arrangement.<\/p>\n
At the APEC summit last year in Bogor, APEC members agreed on
\na phased timetable for trans-Pacific free trade.<\/p>\n
\"Japan's economy is heavily reliant on its export trade, and
\nthe merits of APEC as a free trade bloc is enormous for Japan,\"
\nsays Kunio Igusa of the Institute of Developing Economies in
\nTokyo. But Japan must take care not to strain its trade ties with
\nits booming Asian neighbors, he warns.<\/p>\n
\"Japan has indicated it is not going to join the EAEC. By
\navoiding the (ASEAN) meeting it has shown its disinterest in a
\nsymbol of Asian solidarity without the United States,\" says C.H.
\nKwan, a senior economist at the Nomura Research Institute.<\/p>\n
There is uncertainty about whether the Thailand meeting will
\ngo ahead without Japan. South Korea is also expected to follow
\nJapan in rejecting the ASEAN invitation.<\/p>\n
Tokyo's decision is likely to anger Southeast Asian leaders,
\nparticularly Mahathir. The Malaysian leader has already
\nthreatened to boycott the November APEC summit in Osaka.<\/p>\n
Japan has officially thrown its support behind APEC, but
\nofficials have listened keenly to discussions on the formation of
\nthe all-Asian economic grouping, and some Japanese politicians
\nhave openly spoken in support of EAEC.<\/p>\n
Mahathir has chided Japan for dragging its feet on EAEC.
\n\"Japan owes East Asia and Southeast Asia a great debt,\" he said.
\n\"We do not need apologies (for Japan's wartime acts). What we
\nneed is your cooperation and your help to develop us.\"<\/p>\n
Trade between Japan and ASEAN's fast-growing economies has
\nexpanded steadily in recent years. While many ASEAN countries
\nstill have trade deficits with Japan, their exports to the Asian
\neconomic giant continue to increase. Thailand's exports to Japan
\nrose 23 percent in 1994, making Japan its biggest export market.<\/p>\n
Since 1993 Malaysia has become the second most important
\ncountry after Singapore for Japanese private investment. Major
\nJapanese companies have moved electronic production bases to
\nMalaysia and have been re-importing the products back to Japan.<\/p>\n
The yen's steady rise -- 20 percent since the beginning of the
\nyear -- is expected to further boost Japanese trade with ASEAN.
\nSoutheast Asia has become a significant production base for Japan
\nand this is the reason why Japan, which has yet to resolve its
\ntrade friction with the United States, is keen to maintain close
\nties with Asia.<\/p>\n
Despite years of negotiations, Japan's trade surplus with the
\nUnited States remains massive -- US$ 54 billion in 1994. Last
\nyear, Keidanren, Japan's largest business organization, began
\nopenly advocating support for the EAEC. Noting the dynamism of
\nthe Asian economy, the business group urged the Japanese
\ngovernment to follow a more practical policy toward the world.<\/p>\n
\"The merits of merging with China and Southeast Asia which are
\nexperiencing double-digit growth in comparison with the United
\nStates and Europe is something the Japanese cannot resist,\"
\naccording to Japan expert Robert Orr.<\/p>\n
Mahathir has also been receiving wide public attention in
\nJapan. \"Mahathir is popular in Japan because he says what most
\nJapanese don't dare to,\" said a publisher, explaining the recent
\nmedia rush for interviews with the West-bashing premier.<\/p>\n
Tokyo-based analysts say the divergent positions taken by the
\ngovernment and business leaders over the EAEC issue reflect a new
\nand significant trend in Japanese politics.<\/p>\n
Noted Kwan: \"Up to now Japanese diplomacy was tightly knit
\nwith the nation's economic interests. Now we are seeing a split.\"<\/p>\n
-- IPS<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/japan-caught-between-two-sides-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }