At times, since 2000, interest has piqued in Sino-Japanese competition—over Russia (rival proposals for an oil pipeline in the early 2000s), South Korea (maneuvering within ASEAN+3 and in the Six-Party Talks), and India (recently, as Abe Shinzo and Xi Jinping both are seeking upgraded ties to Narendra Modi)—, but the most intense, sustained rivalry has unfolded over Southeast Asia. In 2013-2014, under the shadow of much more serious bilateral tensions, Abe and Xi have turned to Southeast Asia as the venue where they can fend off each other’s advances and pursue their state’s national interests and national identity objectives most productively. Each keeps firmly in mind the role of the United States as a third outside power in this region, while weighing strategic, economic, and civilizational aspects of relations with the various states of Southeast Asia and with ASEAN as its representative organization. Indeed, ASEAN+6, inclusive of India and Australia with ASEAN at the core, is the broader arena, rather than Northeast Asia, for the intensifying competition in 2014.
2014OCT17
Japan’s Approach to Southeast Asia in the Context of Sino-Japanese Relations
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By :
Gilbert Rozman