xueli:Withsecurityasthecoreconcern,Japanseekshelpinquartetalliance
2020-01-01 23:20阅读：
本文2019年12月30日发表于GLOBAL TIMES。发表版链接：With security as the core
concern, Japan seeks help in quartet alliance
http://enapp.globaltimes.cn/#/article/1175240
With security as the core concern, Japan seeks help in
quartet alliance
The world is now entering a new period of
peaceful competition among different civilizations. A rising China
should know other countries better, and Japan is one of them. It is
important to deepen people's understanding of Japan through its
foreign policy.
Japan has a clear strategy for its diplomacy: Since
it cannot compete with China on its own, comprehensive steps on
politics, security, economy and culture need to be
taken.
Politically, Japan doesn't recognize China's political system
and political value. It recognizes itself as part of the West.
Thus, it creates the 'Arc of Freedom and
Prosperity' alongside eastern, southern, and southwestern China.
Economically,
Japan set its Economic Partnership Agreement as the focus to
promote relations with other countries. In order to counter China's
influence, Japan also participates in ASEAN Plus Six, the
Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Comprehensive and
progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
Moreover, its dithering on the Regional Comprehensive Economic
Partnership (RCEP) and limited support for the China-proposed Belt
and Road Initiative reflect its fear of China as well.
Culturally, Japan has strong faith in itself as a tourist
magnet. Besides its influential animation and cuisine, some NGOs
also take the responsibility to promote Japan worldwide. For
example, the Japan Foundation holds travel exhibitions and Japanese
film screenings overseas. Under their joint efforts, Japan's
cultural diplomacy has achieved great success. Japanese passport
holders can access 189 countries visa-free. Besides, with its
attractive tourist spots, Japan is also one of the top destinations
for travelers to revisit.
Security is the core concern of Japan's
'Free and Open Indo-Pacific Vision.' Japan worries about the rise
of China, believing that in order to restrain the regional
powerhouse, the rebalance to Asia-Pacific strategy should be
expanded to the Indo-Pacific. Therefore, Japanese Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe announced his 'Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy' in
2016, intending to develop cooperation with countries which share
the same values with Japan in the Indo-Pacific region, such as US,
Australia and India. It seems that Japan is much keener on its
quartet alliance than the others.
But this four-way alliance does not
achieve much by way of Japan's efforts to strike a rebalance to
Indo-Pacific strategy. First, even though US military is interested
in the alliance, US President Donald Trump who emphasizes 'America
First' cares much less about it. While, as for India which pursues
a foreign policy of non-alignment and strategic autonomy, it does
not want to be used by other countries as a tool to go against
China. For example, India kept Australia out of the 2018 Malabar
trilateral naval exercise among the US, Japan and India. Australia
is interested in the alliance but it worries about its economic
relations with China even more.
ASEAN members do not want to choose a
side between China and the US, which is the reason why they are
reserved about Japan's Indo-Pacific strategy. In November 2018, in
light of improvement in China-Japan relations and factoring in
ASEAN, Japan started to use the term 'Free and Open Indo-Pacific
Vision' to refer to 'Free and Open Indo-Pacific
Strategy.'
Japan is also not against forming a so-called Asian version
of NATO through military cooperation with the US and South Korea.
Yet the Asian version of NATO will hardly be realized in the
foreseeable future, because South Korea even announced in August to
scrap the General Security of Military Information Agreement
(GSOMIA) with Japan, although it eventually made a last-minute
decision to renew the deal in November.
Whether
it is the 'Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy' or the 'Free and
Open Indo-Pacific Vision,' the main target of Japan's Indo-Pacific
foreign policy is China. By making friends with other stakeholders,
Japan can maintain its influence, make gains and balance China at
the same time.
