A broader Asian agenda

A broader Asian agenda

During the Cold War, Washington saw its role in Asia as
clearly defined -- containing the spread of Soviet-backed
Communism. The region today defies easy classification. While
East Asia is the world's fastest-growing region economically, it
is also an arena where four of the world's most powerful
countries -- Japan, China, Russia and the United States -- are
awkwardly working out new relationships with each other. The
Clinton administration has yet to devise a policy that adequately
balances American economic and security interests in this vital
region.

President Clinton's current trip underscores the need for such
a policy. The trip's ostensible centerpiece, an Asia-Pacific
economic conference in Manila this weekend, is largely an empty
event. Two years ago, Pacific leaders agreed to create a regional
free-trade zone by 2020. But there is no real consensus for
taking concrete steps toward this laudable goal. The more vital
business is likely to come in side discussions among some of the
16 leaders assembled in Manila. Clinton, for example, is
discussing economic and security issues individually with Prime
Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto of Japan and Presidents Fidel Ramos of
the Philippines, Kim Young Sam of South Korea and Jiang Zemin of
China.

China's economic clout and rising military power are reshaping
relations among Asian nations. Japan, an economic but not a
military power, is anxiously studying Chinese intentions. But
Tokyo also understands that any attempt to rebuild Japanese
military power would stir angry memories throughout Asia of past
Japanese aggression.

South Korea, guarding the last military frontier of the Cold
War, worries about a second Korean War and a militarily resurgent
Japan. Suspecting that Washington is too complacent about both
dangers, it is edging closer to Beijing as a strategic insurance
policy. Meanwhile Russia, though militarily weak, cannot be
discounted. Traditionally a rival of both Japan and China, it now
seems interested in warmer relations with both.

The United States can serve its own interests and the region's
by helping to maintain a security balance in the area. As long as
China, Russia and Japan do not feel threatened, they can be
encouraged to assert themselves economically rather than
militarily, sustaining the surge toward prosperity that has
characterized the region in the last decade.

The United States must recognize that Russia has a legitimate
role to play in the region. Washington can work with both Moscow
and Tokyo to encourage the return to Japan of islands Moscow
seized at the end of World War II.

American relations with Japan, after several years of trade
confrontations, have settled down as Japan struggles to climb out
of a recession. This has given the Clinton administration a
chance to reemphasize security cooperation. Tokyo can continue to
rely on Washington for protection from external threats while
expanding its own participation in United Nations and other
international peacekeeping operations.

China presents the hardest challenge. Washington and Beijing
are talking again after last spring's chill over Taiwan. But the
administration has not found effective ways to moderate Chinese
behavior or hold Beijing to the agreements it has worked out with
the United States and other countries. Clinton's ability to
establish a more productive dialog with China will be an
essential measure of his success in Asia during his next term.

Over the last four years, the Clinton administration has
positioned America to compete effectively in Asia's booming
markets. But the growth of those markets now depends on assuring
stability in the region. That will require more than a strategy
to sell American cars in Japan and to protect American
intellectual property in China.

-- The New York Times