The ASEAN-Japan summit

The ASEAN-Japan summit

Although we fully understand and accept the reasons, we regret
that Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi had to cancel her
planned visit to Jakarta this week following the killing of two
Japanese diplomats in Iraq on Saturday. Her visit to Jakarta was
originally to discuss the final preparations for next week's
ASEAN-Japan summit, which will be cochaired by Prime Minister
Junichiro Koizumi and President Megawati Soekarnoputri.

We believe, however, that the cancellation will not affect the
summit, whose purpose is to commemorate the 30th anniversary of
relations between the regional grouping and Japan. As the
diplomats' death is a sensitive issue in Tokyo at present, we
hope that the summit will not be sidelined by Japan's domestic
situation.

For the first time since its establishment in 1967, the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will hold its
summit outside the region. Koizumi's initiative is not the first
such move by a Japanese leader. In the 1970s, for example, prime
minister Takeo Fukuda was known for his "Fukuda Doctrine" on
Southeast Asia. In 1998, Kiichi Miyazawa launched the US$30
billion "New Miyazawa Initiative" to help ASEAN countries face
the economic crisis that had hit the region a year earlier.

Japan's position as the world's second-most powerful economy
after the U.S., and as the largest investor and biggest donor in
the ASEAN region -- plus the fact that Japan is ASEAN's most
important trading partner -- makes the summit interesting to
watch. It must be remembered, however, that geopolitical and
economic conditions in this region were totally different in the
1970s to the situation that exists at present. A different
response is therefore needed to the differing challenges.

Nations in the region are awaiting what concrete results they
can expect from the summit for the advancement of the welfare and
economic progress of both the region and for Japan, and what
those results will mean for the improvement of political
stability and security in Asia. Obviously, the hope in the region
is that significant progress can be achieved, and we have every
reason to believe that Japan is making serious preparations so it
can come up with major workable initiatives to promote its
relations with countries in the region. After all, a stable and
prosperous ASEAN is crucial for Japan's own national security and
economic interests.

According to press reports, Japan is likely to sign the Treaty
of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) during the
summit. China and India, two regional superpower countries in
Asia, signed the TAC during the ASEAN Bali summit in October.
Japan clearly wants to use the momentum of the Tokyo summit to
join the treaty, although from an ASEAN perspective it would have
been much better if Japan had signed the document in Bali, on
ASEAN soil.

It is encouraging to see significant signs of Japan's economic
recovery after more than 10 years of recession. The magnitude of
the country's economy is proven by the fact that it remains the
second strongest economy on the planet, despite the steep
recession and deflation it is facing.

Although China's economy continues to show high growth, and
China is regarded by many as the world's new economic power,
Japan's economic role at this point remains the major pillar for
Asia, especially ASEAN. The region's economic and trade ties with
Japan and that country's huge official development assistance to
Southeast Asian countries are a crucial factor for the region's
economic progress. That role is not likely to change drastically,
even in the long run.

Of course, it would be naive to claim that ASEAN is the most
important partner for Japan and that therefore Tokyo should
concentrate on the region. Japan at present is a global economic
superpower, although politically it is widely regarded more as
one of the most loyal allies of the U.S.

In the light of all this, we regret, however, to have to note
that Japan's history during the Second World War and its
occupation of several countries in this region during that period
of its history remain traumatic, haunting not only the individual
victims affected, but their nations as well. This factor often
causes Japan to seem hesitant to play its international role to
the fullest. Even in facing the nuclear crisis on the Korean
peninsula, where its national security is at stake, Japan is very
careful in confronting North Korea, which often uses Japan's past
occupation of the peninsula as a convenient tool to attack it.

When the 10 ASEAN leaders -- including Myanmar's Prime
Minister Gen. Than Shwe, who received some harsh words of warning
from Koizumi over the detention of Myanmarese opposition leader
Aung San Suu Kyi when they met during the Bali summit -- sit
together with Prime Minister Koizumi on Dec. 11 and Dec. 12, all
of them hope that they can return home with good news. This means
that the summit should have a substantive agenda tabled for
discussion, not just a meeting to strengthen friendship, as some
critics maintain.