U.S. for improving ties with Japan, says Bush

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON, JAN. 25. The U.S. President, Mr. George W Bush has told the Japanese Prime Minister, Mr. Yoshiro Mori that he would like to further develop the bilateral relations and has also called for an early summit of the two leaders. Mr. Bush spoke to Mr. Mori on Wednesday morning. ``You are one of the leaders I call first. This is a symbol of the close relationship between the United States and Japan,'' Mr. Bush is quoted as having told the Japanese Premier.

Indications are that Mr. Mori will be travelling to the U.S. to meet the new American President in February or March. A more definite schedule is likely to emerge later this week when the Secretary of State, Gen. Colin Powell, meets his Japanese counterpart, Mr. Yohei Kono. The meeting is due to take place this Friday. Gen. Powell, in his confirmation hearings before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called for closer relations with allies and friends in the Asia Pacific, especially Japan.

The Bush administration, even before formally assuming office, had made it quite clear that it was for furthering relations with Japan, which in its view had been given the short shrift during the Clinton administration. The perception of the new Republican administration is that to humour the leadership in Beijing, the Clinton administration had downgraded the special meaning and significance of the U.S.-Japan relations. When the Japanese Foreign Minister visits Washington, the U.S. and Japan may agree to set up a panel to discuss security issues and policy in the context of the guidelines that have been agreed upon but those which have been viewed with apprehension by China. The Bush administration, even while talking about enhanced cooperation with Japan, will be leaning on Tokyo to play a bigger role in defence issues regionally.

But the question is how much of a role will Tokyo want to play a role in the Bush administration's emphasis on Japan in the Asia- Pacific. While emphasising that Washington did not wish to upset the present scheme of things with China, the incoming Bush administration has also made it clear that it did not consider China as a strategic partner, rather it was a strategic competitor. The question is if Japan is ready for the regional implications of a deeper strategic role with the U.S.

The bilateral aspects of relations aside, if the Japan part of the Asia-Pacific relationship is fine-tuned, then there will be a definite response from China. China has long maintained that Washington and Tokyo are exaggerating the threat perceptions in East Asia by way of North Korea - to enhance military cooperation for two purposes: contain China and protect Taiwan. But conservative Republicans are unlikely to lose any sleep on what China might say.

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Section  : International
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