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May 26, 2005
Ineffectual ringmaster
The Bush administration offers its comments on Japan's recent rough stretch:
A senior U.S. State Department official on Thursday expressed concern about recent conflicts between Japan and China and South Korea and encouraged them to resolve their differences, saying their relations are ''essential to stability and prosperity in Asia.''
China and Japan ''have many common interests, and we encourage stable relations between them and engagement on a full range of issues,'' U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Christopher Hill said in a House of Representatives hearing.
Nothing wrong with that. Though as is often the case with ostensibly impartial diplomatic statements, the United States is clearly taking sides. Japan's been a very well-behaved U.S. ally of late, and the administration looks out for its own. Plus, China is the next big enemy, anyway (right?), so there's no use in just delaying the inevitable testiness.
But what of South Korea, which like Japan but unlike China remains a rather legitimate U.S. ally? The Koreans have certainly had their issues with Japan, as well. Assistant Secretary Hill didn't forget about them:
Despite the discord between Japan and South Korea, Hill was upbeat on future relations.
''My own belief is that our democratic allies have both the will and the ability to resolve their disputes,'' he said, noting that the United States has urged the two countries to mend their ties and ''not to allow their differences to escalate.''
Again, nothing wrong with that. But fixing up relations between the United States' "democratic allies" in East Asia will require more than just generic congressional testimony, especially in light of things like this:
South Korea demanded Thursday that Japan discipline its No.2 diplomat after reports of a comment that his government could not share intelligence on North Korea because Washington no longer trusted Seoul.
The remark, attributed to Deputy Foreign Minister Shotaro Yachi of Japan and reportedly made to a group of South Korean lawmakers in Tokyo on May 11, was disclosed this week in Seoul. The incident has pushed South Korea's already troubled relations with Japan to a new low.
On Thursday the South Korean Foreign Ministry called in the Japanese ambassador, Toshiyuki Takano, and demanded an apology. The Seoul government warned that bilateral relations could be "seriously affected."
According to South Korean politicians who were present at the meeting, Yachi said: "Since the United States does not have sufficient trust in South Korea, Japan finds it a problem to share information it has received from Washington with South Korea." [emphasis mine]
Who knows if what Yachi said was technically accurate. Thing is, it doesn't matter. A Japanese diplomat implies a lack of U.S. trust in Korea, and the Koreans, in turn, warn that this will damage bilateral relations -- with Japan. Think about that. If and when you do, chances are you'll have given it greater consideration than any of the parties involved in this ridiculous but all-too-serious spat.
Posted by Daniel Widome at 10:39 PM to Asia
