LONDON -- On Jan. 22, two of the world's leading powers celebrated the 40th anniversary of a remarkable reconciliation. At the historic Palace of Versailles, France's President Jacques Chirac and Germany's Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder toasted a treaty signed in 1963 by their visionary predecessors, Charles de Gaulle and Konrad Adenauer. After three fierce wars between 1870 and 1945, new leaders resolved this must never happen again. Ancient enemies had to learn to become best friends.
To do that took two things: courage and community. Rather than wallow in rancor or rebuild walls of suspicion, Europe's farsighted postwar leaders ignored the voices of hate -- and built institutions instead. Right after 1945, with Nazi atrocities still a vivid memory, they began to work actively together: laying the foundations of what would become the European Union.
That is statesmanship, which, sadly, is a quality thin on the ground in East Asia. Seeing how close France and Germany are today -- despite differences and occasional rows -- is a painful reminder of half a century of lost opportunities in East Asia. One has to ask: If in Europe old foes could bury the hatchet, why -- even in 2003 -- can't Japan and South Korea do the same?