Photo/Illutration From left, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi hold a joint media availability at the Quad meeting of foreign ministers in Melbourne on Feb. 11. (Pool Photo via AP)

The eyes of Asia-Pacific nations are fixed on Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.

It is shocking that a major power started this war so one-sidedly at a time when the world is rife with hot coals that could trigger more conflicts.

We are facing the test of building a world order based on international law, including the U.N. Charter. Japan, as a regional power, should press ahead with its diplomatic approach of forming ties with other nations in upholding the rule of law.

Asia is so diverse on a historical, ethnological and religious basis. Nations in the region have mixed and nuanced views of the rivalry between the world’s major powers, including the United States, China and Russia.

And few of them can afford to have the simple option of siding with either one of the competing camps.

During the Cold War period, there was a movement in Asia, as well as in Africa, for creating a Third World that distances itself from both the Western and Eastern blocs.

Times have changed, and we have seen the rise of emerging nations, with China being the most notable example. The United States, in the meantime, has been on a sustained decline.

Russia’s latest invasion of Ukraine brought the world face to face with the conundrum of maintaining peace and security during this time of volatility. The problem has serious implications for Asia, with its many flashpoints that include the Taiwan Strait, the South China Sea and Kashmir.

An answer to that question should not be found directly in an endless arms race. We are called on to build a world order, precisely because we live in this diverse region, to deter conflicts by sharing rules and ensuring that they are effective.

Japan’s diplomacy, which has long advocated universal values including the rule of law, is therefore facing a serious test in that sense.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on March 8 held phone talks with Joko Widodo, the president of Indonesia. Arrangements are also being made to have him visit India and Cambodia later this month.

Under the so-called “Quad” framework, Japan, the United States, Australia and India held an online summit earlier this month, but their joint statement contained no explicit reference to Russia. Washington has a growing discontent with New Delhi, which refused to agree to a similar wording.

Tokyo should serve as a coordinator between the two nations.

Strengthening cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations is essential for Japan, which maintains good relations with countries of the regional bloc, including through economic assistance.

ASEAN is currently chaired by Cambodia. Kishida should confirm, when he visits the nation, that both countries share the principle that aggression should never be tolerated.

It would not be sensible for China to be regarded as being similar to a reckless major power like Russia. Tokyo should persuade Beijing and other parties that the stability of Asia, a driver of the world’s economic growth, serves the global public good.

Along with China and India, some other Asia-Pacific nations, including Pakistan and Vietnam, also abstained from voting during a recent U.N. General Assembly session where a resolution to condemn Russia was adopted. That indicates those countries are in a sensitive position.

Still, speeches made during the session by many U.N. ambassadors, who called for awareness of the crisis, were worth listening to.

“Small or large, we must all stand in solidarity to uphold basic human rights and the rule of law,” said the representative of the Marshall Islands.

And her Malaysian counterpart said, “A nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.”

--The Asahi Shimbun, March 13

Related News