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