CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- Some cliches keep resurfacing in strategic jargon: Japan and the United States share the most important bilateral relationship in the world; stability in Asia-Pacific; harmony in the triangular interactions among Japan, China and the U.S. But these concepts are facing challenges.
It was only a few months ago that the new president of Indonesia, Abdurrahman Wahid, articulated an interesting concept concerning the strategic landscape of Asia. He proposed that a subtle connection be made between regional organizations such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation the major countries of Northeast Asia. More specifically, he suggested that his country play an intermediary role to lessen antagonisms among China, Japan and India. Wahid's ideas might have carried more weight were it not for subsequent pessimism stemming from the apparent weakness of his regime.
More recently, observers have taken note of some positive trends in the relationship between Japan and India, which had been rather dormant in the past. In a recent article in the Far Eastern Economic Review, Tomoda Seki, a Japanese academic, described a series of official visits and exchanges between Tokyo and New Delhi. Writing with approval of this emerging "strategic partnership," he cites three reasons that necessitate such a development from Tokyo's perspective: greater petroleum security, international politics and trade.