by
Wada Haruki
[Professor Emeritus, University of Tokyo]
posted June 30, 2006
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 Preface : |
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Article : |
A Japanese specialist on Southeast Asian regionalism, Shimizu Hajime,
once wrote, "A concept of region is a presentation of a world view
or an ideology."(1) When we think about our own region, or the region
to which we belong, it is necessary for us to remember that a region
is not anything given to us, but something to be discovered or created
by us. That is to say, a region does not exist without our wishes
to belong to it. Let us look back to see how the concept of Northeast
Asia rose and developed.
Northeast Asia as a Region
This concept is rather young. After the end of the Vietnam War in
1975, a new international atmosphere enabled new arguments to develop
about the necessity of regional cooperation in this part of the world.
The concept of Northeast Asia became a topic of international
discussion in the region during the 1980s.
In Japan, several prefectural and municipal authorities endeavored
to initiate economic cooperation among prefectures and cities
surrounding the Japanese Sea (or the "East Sea," as Koreans refer
to it in English). Matsue City of the now famous Shimane Prefecture
took the lead in holding the Matsue International Conference for
Friendship Surrounding the Japanese Sea (Kannihonkai Matsue
kokusaikoryu kaigi) in 1986. Due to this conference, the term
"Sphere of Economic Cooperation Surrounding the Japanese Sea"
(Kannihonkai keizaiken) became popular and spread widely in Japan.
But Koreans expressed their displeasure with this term and proposed
to replace it with the term "Economic Cooperation of Northeast Asia."
In 1990, Niigata City and Niigata Prefecture organized the first
annual Niigata Economic Conference of Northeast Asia, inviting
Russian, Chinese, and both North and South Korean representatives
to the event. In 1993, eight other prefectures on the coast of the
Japanese Sea joined Niigata Prefecture and Niigata City to establish
the Economic Research Institute of Northeast Asia (ERINA).
The notion of Northeast Asian economic cooperation spread widely both
in the northeastern part of China and in South Korea. In 1988, research
centers whose main focus would be Northeast Asia were set up in Jilin
Province and Jilin University. They began to publish the magazines
Study of Northeast Asia in 1990 and Northeast Asian Forum in 1992.
Similar research institutes were established in Liaoning Province
in 1990 and at Beijing University in 1993. During this initial phase,
the main agenda was the project of economic development in the Tumen
River area and the proposal to found a Northeast Asia Development
Bank.
Thus, a clear and substantial concept of Northeast Asia as a sphere
of regional economic cooperation appeared around 1990. Here the
concept of Northeast Asia included the northeastern part of China,
the two Koreas, Mongolia, the Russian Far East and Japan.
In the 1990s when the Soviet Communist regime came to an end, a new
trend of arguments about Northeast Asian regional cooperation
appeared with the perspective of holding constructive peace talks
in the region. First, it should be noted that Northeast Asian
cooperation achieved visible success in environmental cooperation.
In 1992, the Northeast Asian Conference on Environmental Cooperation
hosted government representatives of China, South Korea, Japan,
Mongolia, and Russia. The Northeast Asian Sub-regional Program on
Environmental Cooperation began operating in 1993 and received
assistance from the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the
Pacific (ESCAP), a department of the United Nations. And in 1999,
China, South Korea, and Japan agreed to hold annual tripartite
ministerial meetings on the environment.
On the other hand, several scholars began to talk about a regional
community of Northeast Asia in South Korea and Japan. Among others,
I have proposed the organizing of a regional community in Northeast
Asia, called the "Common House of Northeast Asia," suggesting that
"a new alliance of the Soviet Union, China, South and North Korea,
the United States, and Japan in Northeast Asia can be called a house
where peoples of the world live together and where the rapprochement
and the merger of South-North Korea, on the basis of democracy,
constitute the core of that house."(2) The term "Common House" is
taken from Mikhail Gorbachev's proposal for European regional
cooperation. Borrowing Gorbachev's term, I intended to contrast my
idea with the "Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere."
On a governmental level, the first agreement between two countries
where the concept of Northeast Asia was featured is the Japan-North
Korea Pyongyang Declaration. Japan's Prime Minister Koizumi
Junichiro and North Korea's National Defense Commission Chairman Kim
Jong Il met on September 17, 2002 and signed a declaration, in which
the two leaders expressed their determination to "cooperate with each
other in order to maintain and strengthen the peace and stability
of Northeast Asia." The two leaders went as far as to recognize that
"it is important to have a framework in place in order for these
regional countries to promote confidence-building, as the
relationships among these countries are normalized."
Next, a bold and ambitious statement was made by new South Korean
President Roh Moo- hyun in his inauguration speech delivered on
February 25, 2003. President Roh appeared to be a strong champion
of a new regionalism in Northeast Asia and of South Korean initiatives
for regional community-building. He said:
"The Age of Northeast Asia is fast approaching. Northeast Asia,
which used to be on the periphery of the modern world, is now
emerging as a new source of energy in the global economy. . . .
The Korean Peninsula is located at the heart of the region.
It is a big bridge linking China and Japan, the continent and
the ocean. Such a geopolitical characteristic often caused pain
for us in the past. Today, however, this same feature is offering
us an opportunity. Indeed, it demands that we play a pivotal
role in the Age of Northeast Asia in the twenty-first century."
It should be noted that President Roh mentioned three countries: Korea,
China and Japan. For him the Northeast Asian Community is ultimately
a body of regional economic cooperation.
Finally, on September 19, 2005, representatives of six Northeast
Asian countries signed the Joint Statement of the Fourth Round of
Six-Party Talks in Beijing. It stated that "the Six Parties committed
to joint efforts for lasting peace and stability in Northeast Asia"
and that "the Six Parties agreed to explore ways and means for
promoting security cooperation in Northeast Asia."
It can be concluded that these six countries of Northeast Asia --
the two Koreas, China, the United States, Russia and Japan -- were
aiming to create a framework of regional security cooperation through
solution of the North Korean nuclear problem. At that moment, an image
of future regional community showed itself, albeit briefly, through
the dense mist of hostilities and tensions covering the region.
The Identity of the Northeast Asian People
In order to prepare for a regional community we should find and create
a regional identity. People often seek it in cultural traditions,
for example in the usage of Chinese characters or in the spread of
Confucianism, but to no avail. Northeast Asia is a heterogeneous
region in terms of culture, where East Asian, Russo-Eurasian, and
Western cultural values come together.
Furthermore, the Northeast Asian people are most divided by the
differences in politico-social systems and the memory of past
conflicts and war, namely the Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895), the
Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905), the annexation of Korea (1910), World
War II (1941-1945), the Chinese Civil War (1946-1949), the Korean
War (1950-1953), and the Vietnam War (1965-1975). As a result of
this long history of war, great animosities, bitter rivalries, and
territorial disputes remain.
It seems that there is no other region on earth where such awful and
complicated memories of the past and lasting anguish are cleaving
peoples as in Northeast Asia. The perpetrators should apologize,
damages should be compensated, and conflicts should be solved. Above
all, hatred should be overcome and vengeance replaced by forgiveness.
The people of Northeast Asia sincerely desire complete
reconciliation.
It is this passion for reconciliation that forms the basis of our
Northeast Asian identity. The recent rise of anti-Japanese feelings
in China and South Korea can be thought of as a misguided expression
of this passion for reconciliation. They are urging the Japanese
people to respond to them. This passion can be strengthened through
economic and cultural integration of the region and unite the
Northeast Asian people.
Security Cooperation and Environmental Community
The first step to a Northeast Asian Community is creating a body of
regional security cooperation. This body would be formed through
the solution of the North Korean nuclear issue and a peace settlement
on the Korean Peninsula. If the leaders of the six countries were
to sign a final document of agreement of the six-party talks, this
gathering could turn into a Northeast Asian Summit, which could lead
to the formation of ANEAN, the Association of Northeast Asian Nations.
Security cooperation between the six countries should first of all
keep peace on the Korean Peninsula, but it will also play an important
role in preventing an undesirable event in the Taiwan Straits. In
such a regional system of security cooperation, the Japan-US Security
Pact and the ROK-US Mutual Defense Treaty can be redefined and
improved.
Mongolia should be included in the security cooperation of Northeast
Asia from an early stage. Mongolia has an army of only 21,000 men
and has declared itself a nuclear-free state.
The second step to a Northeast Asian Community is building an
environmental community. The basis for this community has been
already laid. The issues of yellow sand and acid rain, and now bird
flu, have already united all the countries of this region. Taiwan
should be included in this cooperation, along with the other large
islands of the region?Okinawa, Cheju Island, Sakhalin and Hawaii.
Perhaps the most serious problem is the possibility of an accident
at a North Korean nuclear plant. The North Korean nuclear reactor
in Yongbyon is the same type that exploded at Chernobyl in 1986, just
twenty years ago. Hazel Smith, an English specialist on North Korea,
warned in last October's issue of Jane's Intelligence Review that
"irrespective of the truth of North Korea's claims to be developing
or to have manufactured nuclear bombs, the possibilities of a nuclear
accident provide a real and present danger for the population of North
Korea, those few foreigners living in the country and the population
of neighbouring countries." To prevent such a catastrophe is a
common task of the Northeast Asian people.
The DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) on the Korean Peninsula has a rare
natural heritage that has not been spoiled by human activity for half
a century. This can be turned into a Green Peace Belt, once a peace
settlement is realized on the Korean Peninsula. It could also serve
as the location for central institutions of the Northeast Asian
Community.
From Northeast Asian Community to East Asian Community
In 2005, another community building project was officially
recognized: the East Asian Community. Sincere and stable steps
toward building a Northeast Asian Community can contribute much to
the formation of this greater regional community project.
Last December, two summits were held to promote an East Asian
Community in Kuala Lumpur. The regular ASEAN+3 conference and the
East Asian Summit both issued declarations promoting an East Asian
Community. It is generally agreed that these conferences are the
starting points of a long journey towards an East Asian Community.
At the second conference of the ASEAN+3 in 1998, South Korean
President Kim Dae-Jung proposed the organization of an East Asian
Vision Group for thorough discussion of measures to overcome economic
crisis. In December 2001, the resulting Vision Group presented to
the fifth ASEAN+3 conference a report entitled "Towards an East Asian
Community: Region of Peace, Prosperity and Progress." The report
begins: "We, the people of East Asia, aspire to create an East Asian
community of peace, prosperity and progress based on the full
development of all peoples in the region." The authors of the report
proposed to organize an East Asian Summit in the near future.
Last December, the East Asian Summit was perceived as a significant
step forward in realizing such a community and enjoyed wide support
among countries of the region.
However, the outlook is not completely optimistic. First, there are
disagreements between Japan and China over membership in the East
Asian Community. Japan wishes to include India, Australia and New
Zealand, while China appears to be unwilling to do so. Second, the
United States government is skeptical of this scheme of regional
cooperation without U.S. participation. Americans cannot be
indifferent to any idea of regional cooperation in Asia, and are
unlikely to support an East Asian Community without their
participation.
It is noteworthy that Francis Fukuyama suggested that the form of
the six-party talks can be used for Northeast Asian regional security
cooperation.(3) For him, this is the form in which the United States
can become a full member. Former U.S. Ambassador James Goodby
(Brookings Institute) propounded at the Cheju Peace Forum in June
2005 that an organization of Northeast Asian security cooperation
should be prepared by the development of the six-party talks or a
five-partite conference. The joint statement of the six-party talks
issue last September confirmed the scheme of Northeast Asian security
cooperation.
If we think of community building as a multi-layered process, the
Northeast Asian Community and East Asian Community can coexist. We
need not think of them as contradictory. On one level, the Northeast
Asian Community, including the United States as a member, can be
combined with the Southeast Asian Community, growing from ASEAN. On
a second level, an East Asian Community without the United States
can be built.
Conclusion
Geographically, the Korean Peninsula is located at the center of
Northeast Asia. Politically, peace and reconciliation between South
and North Korea are the crucial problem of the region. Koreans are
living in four other countries of the region: two million in China,
less than half million in former Soviet Union, less than one million
in Japan and two million in the United States. It is natural that
the two Koreas will take the lead in forming the Northeast Asian
Community. China, Russia, the United States and Japan should also
make sincere efforts to construct the Northeast Asian Community.
Furthermore, Mongolia can play an important role in uniting the region.
Last but not least, representatives of the larger islands in the
region?Taiwan, Cheju, Okinawa, Sakhalin and Hawaii?can also
contribute to the cause of forming a Northeast Asian Community.
NOTES:
* This article is a revised and abridged version of a paper presented
at the International Symposium on "Constructing a Northeast Asian
Community and the Role of Universities" held in Seoul, Korea, May
22-23, 2006.
(1) Shimizu Hajime, "Kindai Nihon niokeru 'Tonan Aziya' chiiki gainen
no seiritsu" (The Birth of a Regional Concept "Southeast Asia" in
Modern Japan), Aziya Kenkyu, No. 6 (1987), p. 3.
(2) The first occasion on which I spoke about the idea of the Common
House was at the Japanese-Korean Symposium jointly organized by the
Donga Ilbo and Asahi Shimbun in Seoul in 1990. The second occasion
on which I proposed my idea of the Common House was in an article
entitled "A Common House of Northeast Asia and the Korean Peninsula"
in the Seoul journal Changjak kwa Pipyong, No. 87 (Spring 1995). For
a more systematic description, see Wada Haruki, Tohokuazia Kyodo no
Ie [A Common House of Northeast Asia] (Tokyo: Heibonsha, 2003) (Seoul:
Ilchokaku, 2004, in Korean).
(3) Francis Fukuyama, "Re-Envisioning Asia," Foreign Affairs, Vol.
84, No. 1 (2005).
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