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Commentary: The China-Japan challenge
(International Herald Tribune)
Updated: 2005-12-06 15:39
It is not easy these days to picture the United States in the role of
relationship therapist, patiently repairing the dangerous rift that has been
growing between China and Japan. But that is exactly what those two major Asian
powers need. Few things could be more vital for global peace and prosperity than
resolving the conflicts between Tokyo and Beijing.
Some of those conflicts are emotional; others are rooted in traditional
competition over resources and regional influence. Whether it is their quarrels
over clashing historical narratives or their disputes about natural gas deposits
in the East China Sea, however, China and Japan confront no conflicts so
irreconcilable that they must inevitably lead to strategic confrontation.
To reduce the mounting tension in their relations, both countries need sage
leadership and a little help from the United States, the indispensable purchaser
of their goods and the debtor whose currency their central banks support.
Washington should begin the reconciliation process by making clear the U.S.
interest in removing the causes of antagonism between the two peoples. To do
this, the Bush administration will have to overcome Chinese suspicions that the
United States intends to encourage Japan to discard Article 9 of its
Constitution, barring the use of its military for anything other than
self-defense. Beijing suspects the United States of seeking to involve Japan in
a military build-up for the purpose of containing China.
Simultaneously, China sees rightist politicians in Japan rising to prominence
on a wave of patriotic assertiveness. Their influence is evident in the
rewriting of Japanese textbooks to deny imperial Japan's atrocities in China.
The visits of Japan's prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi, to the Yasukuni Shrine,
where major Japanese war criminals are buried.
Beyond counseling both governments to cease stoking old enmities, the
United States should build on the current six-party talks about North Korea's
nuclear program to institute a permanent forum for consultation on security
matters in Northeast Asia. Washington might also encourage formation of a
regional energy consortium to put an end to dangerous disputes between China and
Japan over undersea natural gas deposits. Above all, Washington must make it
plain to all of Asia that the current deterioration of relations between China
and Japan does not serve, but harms, American and international interests.
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