Japan-ASEAN ties
Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto wound up his Southeast Asian tour yesterday with a message to leaders in the region of his intention to expand and deepen Tokyo's ties with countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), both as a group as well as individually. His major foreign policy speech -- delivered in Singapore, the last stop on his tour that included five ASEAN capitals including Jakarta -- recognized the importance of ASEAN, not only to Japan and Asia, but to international diplomacy as well.
The prime minister's proposed "Hashimoto Doctrine" suggests that the two sides expand ties beyond economics, which have underpinned their strong relations to date. He cited terrorism, the environment, health and welfare, food and energy shortages, population, AIDS and drugs as issues that Japan and ASEAN would have to work closely on in the 21st century.
A decade or two ago, the suggestion of closer Japan-ASEAN cooperation would have raised suspicions among some people in the region. For them, it would have smacked of the Greater Asia Coprosperity Sphere, a concept which sent Tokyo on its East Asia military campaign in the 1930s that started World War II in Asia.
A decade or two ago, relations between Japan and individual ASEAN countries were based on dependence, as Japan's economic prowess was able to achieve what its military was not 50 to 60 years ago. Southeast Asian countries were reduced to being mere suppliers -- but not the only suppliers -- of raw materials for Japanese industries. Any attempt to strengthen or formalize this condition at the time was bound to raise old emotions, as witnessed in the various anti-Japanese protests, some of them violent, in the 1970s and 1980s in ASEAN capitals.
Times have changed and so have the conditions surrounding the relations between Japan and ASEAN. Memories of Japan's war atrocities remain in the minds of a few survivors, but for the majority of ASEAN's people, they are historical records. The economies of ASEAN have grown and their exports have become more diversified. Furthermore, their relations with Japan have increasingly become interdependent and mutually beneficial.
Given the prevailing conditions, Hashimoto could not have come up with his doctrine at a better time. His emphasis on expanding ties beyond economics should dispel any lingering doubts about Japan's designs for Southeast Asia. Economic relations will continue to be important, but they should not monopolize the ties. Given the strength of their economies, ASEAN should feel more confident about trading with Japan and more comfortable addressing economic disputes that might come up between them. Japan is still the largest export market for some ASEAN countries and their prime source of investment, but relations are taking on the look of equal partnerships.
The key to fruitful relations between Japan and ASEAN lies in the recognition of interdependence as well as shared interests and goals, even if they have different approaches to resolving problems. Japan's concerns about security in Asia, for example, are shared by ASEAN countries, though Hashimoto's defense of the American military presence in the region might be frowned upon by some ASEAN leaders.
This is where dialog comes in and can play a key role in resolving and ironing out differences. Hashimoto's proposal for more intensive talks, including an annual summit between Japanese and ASEAN leaders, should be seen in this light. ASEAN's leaders need to give Hashimoto's proposal a serious look when they meet in Kuala Lumpur for their informal summit in December. After all, it is a partnership between Japan and ASEAN that he is suggesting, not an alliance.