Asian foreign policy

Asian foreign policy

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (APEC) in Pusan closed with an outcome that was hardly satisfying for Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. Although he met briefly for talks with South Korea President Roh Moo-hyun, Koizumi did not manage to arrange a one-on-one conference with Chinese President Hu Jintao.

This is more evidence of the deepening chill in Sino-Japanese ties.

This degree of deterioration in Japan's ties with Beijing and Seoul has made our Southeast Asian neighbors more worried about the situation.

In December, several other vital events will be taking place in Asia. Of particular note are the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit meeting that will be convened in Malaysia and be attended by leaders from Japan, China and South Korea, and the East Asia Summit, which aims to build a community bloc for the region.

When mapping out the future for East Asia, Japan's inability to engineer better relations with its neighbors China and South Korea will only cast a dark shadow on the road ahead. -- The Asahi Shimbun, Tokyo