The agreement by Asean foreign ministers on a common agenda for their coming talks with the goliath to the north was one of the most important regional events of last week, but something even more interesting took place a little farther north on the Asian continent.
Disputes over the South China Sea have been festering for years, so it was significant that Asean ministers meeting in Hua Hin (minus their Cambodian counterpart, unsurprisingly) are now united on a Code of Conduct for the area. Now they will take their proposal to Beijing for talks from Aug 28-30 to mark the 10th anniversary of their “strategic partnership”.
But one could argue that an even bigger and more encouraging development took place in Japan. Prime Minster Shinzo Abe, despite previous claims that he felt sorry for not having visited the Yasukuni shrine during his first term as premier in 2006, stayed away from ceremonies held there to mark the 68th anniversary of the surrender of the Japanese forces during World War II.
For years some Japanese politicians have felt it essential to burnish their nationalist credentials by visiting Yasukuni, to the dismay of many countries, especially South Korea and China. The Shinto shrine honours the 2.5 million Japanese war dead, including executed war criminals and wartime premier Hideki Tojo. High-profile figures paying their respects there risk condemnation the many Asian nations that fell victim to Japan’s colonial ambitions.
Mr Abe, who as opposition leader had visited the shrine in the past, this year opted to stay away for the sake of better diplomatic relations with Japan’s neighbours. However, an aide did deliver a cash donation in an envelope bearing the premier’s signature, and some cabinet members paid their respects in person on Thursday. The latter prompted China to call in the Japanese ambassador to register its disapproval.
But what is commendable is that Mr Abe took a bold step, and most likely an unpopular one with the domestic population, because this is a very sensitive subject.
Mr Abe seems to be cornered. Relations with China have been on rocky ground because of territorial disputes that have become more pronounced over the past year. He has to shore up his country’s economy at any cost, and has been doing a good job on that front so far. Losing the goodwill of key trading partners is something he cannot afford to do.
Asean countries tend to be less vocal about Japanese politicians’ provocative annual Yasukuni rituals, even though they too suffered terribly during the Japanese occupation 70 years ago. So when a Japanese premier distances himself from the practice, it is a positive step not just for relations with China and South Korea but also with Southeast Asia.
Asean and Japan are celebrating their 40th anniversary of relations this year, and both sides can point to a lot of progress. Japan has long since transformed itself from an invader to an investor, and it has made significant contributions to the economic development of the entire region.
Under “Abenomics”, the new government in Tokyo is also trying to end two decades of stagnation, and Asean has been the key focus of its economic revival drive. Mr Abe has been to many Asean countries already to promote investments and greater trade integration.
A visit to a controversial shrine at a time when Chinese vessels are making weekly incursions into the Senkaku islands (China calls them Diaoyu) could only exacerbate already sensitive relations.
The Tokyo government’s purchase of the uninhabited islands from a private owner last year reignited a dispute over an area some see as the new flashpoint of the Asia, taking the spotlight away from the two nuclear powers of South Asia or the crazy leader of North Korea.
Japan has already paid a high price for its island adventure in the form of large-scale boycotts of its businesses by Chinese consumers. The financial losses could be in the hundreds of billions of dollars for a Japanese corporate sector whose players are losing market share to their South Korean counterparts.
It is therefore a relief to see some sense prevailing in the mind of at least one leader who is not looking at catering only to his domestic audience but also is considering the regional implications of his conduct.
Mr Abe’s decision also will help Japan in its drive to position itself as a counterweight in the region to the growing influence of the Chinese superpower. Let’s hope that future Japanese governments follow his lead. Beijing too might consider the virtues of regional harmony in its future dealings with Japan and in its talks with Asean later this month.