Japan seeks broader ties with ASEAN

Japan seeks broader ties with ASEAN

SINGAPORE (Agencies): Japanese Premier Ryutaro Hashimoto
yesterday unveiled an ambitious plan to intensify relations with
Southeast Asia with annual summits and a vast array of
cooperation programs in the 21st century.

Saying it was time for Japan and the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN) to have "broader and deeper" ties beyond
economics, he proposed bilateral security talks and joint efforts
on everything from fighting terrorism to battling pollution.

The blueprint, dubbed the "Hashimoto Doctrine", was unveiled
at the end of the Japanese leader's tour of five nations
belonging to ASEAN, one of Japan's most vital international
partners.

In a lecture attended by Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok
Tong and foreign diplomats, Hashimoto said Japan and ASEAN
"should reform their cooperative relationship in a manner
suitable for a new era."

He said his proposal for annual Japan-ASEAN summits was backed
by Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Malaysia's Premier Mahathir
Mohamad, Indonesian President Soeharto, Vietnamese Premier Vo Van
Kiet, and Singapore's Goh.

"In order to promote Japan-ASEAN cooperation, strong political
leadership is indispensable. Dialogs at top levels should be
enhanced to build stronger personal ties of trust between top
leaders," he said.

"We should make use of occasions such as formal and informal
ASEAN summit meetings. I proposed this idea to the leaders I met
during this visit, and obtained their agreements on this basic
idea," he said.

Hashimoto is expected to send an emissary soon to the two
ASEAN leaders he did not meet during the tour -- Philippine
President Fidel Ramos and Thai Premier Chavalit Yongchaiyudh --
to get their endorsement.

If the annual summits push through, Japan would be the first
major power regularly included in ASEAN summits.

ASEAN leaders have agreed to meet informally at the end of
every year, with formal summits held roughly every three years.

The first informal summit held last November in Jakarta
included ASEAN applicants Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos.

Hashimoto proposed "frank dialogs on regional security issues
with each of the ASEAN countries on a bilateral basis," another
unprecedented move.

He said Japan, which starts a two-year stint this year as a
non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council,
would like to "closely consult with ASEAN" at the world body.

In other areas, Hashimoto said Japan and ASEAN should work
closely on what he called issues of the 21st century --
terrorism, the environment, health and welfare, food and energy
shortages, population, AIDS and drugs.

In his lecture, Hashimoto stressed that future Japan-ASEAN
cooperation would depend on regional stability, and the "most
important factor" to ensure this is the U.S. military presence.
Japan hosts some 47,000 American troops, nearly half the 100,000
soldiers, sailors and airmen deployed by Washington across the
Asia-Pacific region.

"Even after the end of the Cold War, several unstable factors
persist in the region," Hashimoto continued.

He said that these factors could only be kept from escalating
by the U.S., "a country of unrivaled power and founded upon
principles such as democracy, market mechanism and respect for
creativity."

Hashimoto also urged ASEAN and the entire international
community to continue engaging China and support its
modernization efforts "so that she can secure her position as a
constructive partner in the international community."

He offered Japanese advice on fighting pollution, a growing
problem in ASEAN's red-hot economies, "so they will not repeat
the same mistakes" made by Japan when it was at the same stage of
economic development.

The Japanese leader also said Tokyo was ready to help preserve
Southeast Asia's cultural treasures, citing Japanese assistance
to restore Cambodia's Angkor Wat complex and the ancient
Vietnamese city of Hue.

Editorial -- Page 4

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