Part 2 of 2: Japan strives to maintain, develop partnership with Asia

Ichiro Fujisaki, Japanese Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, Jakarta

ASEAN has been a source of stability and prosperity for more than three decades. It has successfully been adjusting to challenges such as its own expansion and the Asian financial crisis.

Japan is planning to fortify its ties and develop a new partnership with ASEAN as signed in Bali this year. In less than a week, we will have Japan-ASEAN (30-years) Commemorative Summit in Tokyo. The outcome is expected to be a historic one. ASEAN- Japan Basic Document and ASEAN-Japan Joint Action Plan are expected to be adopted. What is important is although it is a new partnership, it will be built on a long-tested and ever-firm ground which the two sides have cooperated to foster.

In any of East Asian communities to be developed in the coming years, ASEAN will have a key role. Japan-ASEAN ties mentioned above will also constitute an indispensable basis. Regional frameworks beyond ASEAN need to be developed in a balanced way. PMC, ASEAN+3, APEC and ARF should all be fortified. They should not be exclusive of each other.

Instead, they should be developed complementing each other. These regional dialogues or mechanisms should be as open as possible to non-members. Especially those who have been contributing to peace and prosperity in this region. You-come- only-when-we-call-you approach will not work. Japan sees these various fora as building blocks of a "community that acts together and advances together".

In this course, we may add more political agenda in APEC process, or advance the ARF process beyond confidence building and into preventive diplomacy. We may further our cooperation in the economic field through ASEAN+3. CSCAP can support these processes as established and very effective second track.

Now, let us turn to international organizations.

The UN role in the region has been significant. The PKO in Cambodia and East Timor were a notable success.

We owe much of our development so far to the free and fair multilateral regime based on WTO. In multilateral mechanism, any country has to abide by the rules. We have seen such a case very recently and were very much reassured of the value of such mechanisms. We all wholeheartedly welcome the recent accession of China and Taiwan to the WTO. APEC proved its importance when, against expectations of the outside world, it agreed in Bangkok that we re-launch negotiations as soon as possible from where we had left off in Cancun this September.

Yes, we do promote an "Initiative for Japan-ASEAN Comprehensive Economic Partnership". But, FTAs should remain as complementing WTO. Not replacing it. Japan does not take a position that if WTO does not advance, we will have FTAs. We have to avoid the situation where regional blocs and protectionism prevail.

Multilateralism is one of the major products and asset of the last half century. At times, it seems insufficient or too slow to arrive at conclusions. But, in the end, it should work. Rules are Rules. We all have to strive to hold up this banner of multilateralism.

As I stated, Asia-Pacific region has enjoyed remarkable peace and prosperity. U.S. presence in the region has effectively supported this. This will remain so in the foreseeable future. The U.S. is currently reviewing its overseas forces. I am convinced that this will not undermine its capability and that there will be proper consultations with partners.

Japan-U.S. Security Arrangements together with Republic of Korea-U.S. Security Arrangements have played the most significant role in securing U.S. presence. Signs of deepening security cooperation between the U.S. and countries in the region should be welcomed. Singapore started to accept U.S. navy vessels to its navy base and concluded ACSA. The Philippines and Thailand are conducting large-scale joint exercises with the U.S.

In short, maintaining and fortifying the present structure becomes the key in this area as well. On the basis of such notion, we should tackle newly arising regional and global issues.

Korean Peninsula is a traditional "hot spot" in the region and also carries aspects of new challenges, namely WMD. The Six-Party Talks started thanks to the Chinese government's constructive efforts. Japan will work closely with other parties to realize the next round of the Talks and make substantial achievement towards solution of the problem in the Talks. I would like to express our appreciation for the understanding and support demonstrated by the international community on the issue of abduction of Japanese citizens by North Korea.

Counter-terrorism cooperation requires internationally concerted response. The case of Afghanistan shows that we cannot afford to have one country lagging behind in such international efforts. We are trying to close loopholes and to reinforce weak links.

This is done through harmonization of national regulations, capacity building, and cooperation between law enforcement agencies and customs. I welcome the fact that regional cooperation in counter-terrorism is vigorously promoted through such frameworks as ARF and APEC. It is to be noted that economic agenda including eradication of poverty would serve to suppress or restrain terrorist activities from a different angle.

Reconstruction of Iraq is now a challenge to international community as a whole. We simply cannot afford to fail. The best way to deal with such acts of terrorism is to make concerted efforts in both ensuring security and assisting reconstruction.

This article is based on an abbreviated text of a luncheon speech delivered at the Conference on Security Cooperation in Asia Pacific (CSCAP) recently held in Jakarta.