JCP Chair Shii's New Year interview (Part II)

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JCP Chair Shii's New Year interview (Part II)

Military alliances are a relic from previous century

Okuhara: The LDP government continues to regard the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty as absolute. However, military alliances are now outdated in the light of the direction of the world.

Shii: Yes. I think this is the second point we should pay attention to in analyzing the present world situation. In the 21st century, military alliances are being dissolved or weakened, or becoming dysfunctional. During the period of the Cold War, military alliances were commonplace. The United States was at the center of a global network of military alliances, countered by the Soviet Union forming a similar network. Under these circumstances, the world was suffocating. Following the break-up of the Soviet Union, the Warsaw Pact military alliance disappeared.

On the U.S. side, three military alliances have either gone or became dysfunctional. The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) was dissolved in the wake of the U.S. defeat in its war of aggression against Vietnam. The Central Treaty Organization (CENTO) was dissolved following the Iranian Revolution. The ANZUS Treaty between Australia, New Zealand, and the United States became dysfunctional after New Zealand declared itself nuclear-free. In the Americas, there is a military alliance known as the Rio Treaty but it has ceased to function due to the democratic changes going on in Latin American countries. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has been drifting since France, Germany, and Canada expressed their opposition to the Iraq War, causing a division in the military alliance.

In Asia, the United States maintains two military alliances; one with Japan and the other with South Korea. Recently, the U.S.-ROK military alliance has entered a new phase with the United States reducing its military presence in South Korea. Whether command authority should be transferred from the United States to the ROK in the event of an emergency is being discussed today. I think that the ROK is trying to act independently even though it still remains within the framework of the military alliance with the United States.

All this shows that Japan is the country that enthusiastically seeks to maintain and even strengthen the military alliance with the United States by extending its coverage to the entire world. Thus, Japan is the only country that goes against the world current for peace.

Okuhara: What an extraordinary country Japan is!

Shii: The world current shows that military alliances are becoming a relic from the previous century.

Communities for peace are being established in various parts of the world

Shii: The era of military alliances is over. I think that it has been replaced with an era of communities. The dissolution of military alliances has been followed by the development of independent communities for peace in various parts of the world.

For instance, in East Asia, the TAC (Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in South East Asia) promoted by the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) is increasing its number of participants. In addition to the 10 ASEAN member states, China, South Korea, Japan, Mongolia, Russia, India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Australia have ratified the TAC. Covering 53 percent of the world population, it is growing rapidly.

The SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization) is another group of countries worthy of attention. At its summit meeting held last June to mark its 5th anniversary, the SCO adopted a joint declaration calling for the creation of a peaceful international order based on the U.N. Charter, mutual respect between diverse cultures, mutual exchanges on an equal footing, and harmonious co-existence. With China and Russia, and Central Asian and South Asian countries participating, the SCO is developing as an organization that includes large countries in central Eurasia.

In South America, the South American Community of Nations (CSN) was established with all 12 South American nations participating. In December last year, the CSN held its second summit in Cochabamba, Bolivia and adopted a declaration calling for "a new model of integration with its own identity, pluralist, among diversity and differences" (Cochabamba Declaration). The principles set forth in the declaration for integration were the strengthening of multilateralism, adherence to the principles and purposes of the United Nations, respect for the right of self-determination of nations, and the peaceful settlement of international disputes.

Countries that make up the CSN are making very significant efforts. In May 2005, leaders of South American and Arab countries met together for a summit in Brasilia and established cooperative and friendly relations between themselves. In November 2006, the CSN held a summit meeting with the African Union (AU) in Nigeria and adopted the Abuja Declaration that called for respect for the U.N. Charter and international law and for peace to be built through multilateralism. The CSN is reportedly planning to hold a meeting with Asian leaders.

Regional communities for peace are being formed in various parts of the world, and they are beginning to create networks for cooperation. Their common objective is to create a peaceful order based on the U.N. Charter, establish a just and democratic economic order, and oppose unilateralism, whether military or economic. Based on such shared principles, networks for peace are being formed throughout the world. I believe this is a very promising development.

Difference between military alliances and regional communities for peace

Okuhara: What is the difference between military alliances and regional communities for peace?

Shii: They are very different. To begin with, military alliances always have "imaginary enemies." They look for outside "enemies".

Okuhara: They desperately try to find such enemies even if there aren't any, don't they?

Shii: You're right. They need enemies even though they are nonexistent. After the collapse of the former Soviet Union, the United States panicked because it lost its "enemy." So, the United States tried hard to "create enemies." In recent years, the United States labels some countries "rogue nations" and designates them as U.S. "enemies." It has also said that "terrorists" are the "enemy." It is always trying to identify and confront enemies as the main job responsibility of the president of the United States.

However, regional communities for peace do not have any "imaginary enemies." These communities are open to the outside world. For example, the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) has recently invited the United States to join the TAC, though the United States is unwilling to join. Each community has no outside "enemy" to deal with and is completely open to every country, thus making networks of mutual cooperation possible throughout the world.

The second is that their internal structures are different. Military alliances consist of subordinate-superior relationships led by "leader countries." The Japan-U.S. military alliance may be the best example of this. Such alliances have nothing in common with the idea of equality among member countries or the idea of respecting each country's sovereignty. In contrast, regional communities for peace are made up of countries that have equal rights and stand firm in respecting each other's sovereignty.

Okuhara: That impresses me with the fact that regional communities for peace are forming a major world trend. I hope that Japanese politics will become part of this trend.

Shii: Northeast Asia has the framework of the Six-Party Talks. If it achieves its goal of establishing a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula by overcoming all the difficulties that this framework is experiencing, it will lead to creating a community for peace in this region. From this viewpoint, it is important to work to make a success of this framework.

Okuhara: You participated in the 4th General Assembly of the International Conference of Asian Political Parties in Seoul (September 2006). The conference's theme was building an "Asian community," wasn't it?

Shii: Yes, it was. The unanimous "Seoul Declaration" adopted by the assembly states, "It is our ultimate goal to build an Asian community that will bring about permanent peace and shared prosperity in the region and enrich the minds and spirits of all our peoples." My speech was entitled, "To realize an Asian community for peace," and I think it was consistent with the assembly's fundamental goal.

Non-aligned movement is gaining new dynamism

Okuhara: The movement of non-aligned countries has been developing since the end of World War II, and it appears to have taken on new dynamism.

Shii: That's the third point that I want to make. Last September, a Japanese delegation led by Director General Akiniwa Toshio of the Japan Asia Africa Latin America Solidarity Committee took part in the 14th Non-Aligned Summit held in Havana in Cuba as observers. Kasai Akira (JCP member of the House of Representatives and JCP International Bureau deputy director) and Sugawara Hiraku (JCP International Bureau staff member) were members of the Japan AALA delegation. They briefed me about the dynamic development of the non-aligned movement.

History shows that the non-aligned movement has developed roughly in three stages since the first summit in 1961.

The first period was from 1961 to 1991, the year when the Soviet Union broke up. This was the era of the Cold War. During this period, the NAM was a force that had refused to join any military block, whether U.S.-led or Soviet-led. With their non-aligned and neutral positions, they played an important role in defending world peace as well as the right of national self-determination. Their activities in those days, however, were often restricted by the U.S.-Soviet confrontation.

The second period was between 1991 and recent years. At that time, there was an argument that the NAM no longer was necessary because of the end of the Cold War. The NAM managed to overcome such an argument by standing firm against any kind of hegemonism.

The latest summit stressed that the NAM is now in a third phase. They state that all NAM members, by overcoming difficulties in the second phase, can become the main players in contemporary world politics. The movement is being revitalized. Participants were saying that all countries in the world should be part of the driving force for remaking the world. I think this is indeed a very significant development.

Okuhara: How many countries are participating in the NAM conference?

Shii: A total of 118 countries, including several new comers. Besides, 15 countries, including China, Brazil, and Mexico, participated in the conference as observers. So, the NAM is comprised of 133 countries that embrace about 80 percent of the world population. The NAM's development has helped countries speak up and act as the main players in international politics. Kasai told me that each speaker at the Havana session gave very interesting speeches.

Small Caribbean countries have the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and have deepened their relations with Cuba and Venezuela in the fields of medical services and energy. In the Organization of American States (OAS) general assembly last year, they jointly called for rejection of a U.S. proposal for intervention in Venezuela's internal affairs.

At the NAM summit, representatives from smaller Caribbean countries with a population of 120,000 or less made clear that they are opposed to any unilateralism for hegemony, although they stopped short of criticizing the United States by name. They called for actions based on the United Nations Charter for a world peace.

The NAM summit was fully committed to the idea that all countries, regardless of size, are entitled to become the key players in world politics on an equal footing.

The JCP Program makes it clear that Japan will participate in the non-aligned movement if it establishes a democratic Coalition Government. In this sense, it's very important that the evolving NAM is the major promoter of world politics for peace.

Okuhara: Yes, indeed.

Interviewer: Akahata Director Okuhara Toshiharu
(To be continued)
- Akahata, January 1, 2007