Japan Press Weekly

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2015 May 20 - 26 [PEACE]

Japan AALA holds international symposium on ‘East Asian community’

The Japan Asia Africa Latin America Solidarity Committee (Japan AALA) held an international symposium on May 24 in Tokyo marking the 60th year of its foundation and the 1955 Afro-Asian Conference (the Bandung Conference). Six panelists from Asian countries, including Japanese Communist Party Vice Chair Ogata Yasuo, talked about a vision of creating an international framework in East Asia.

In the discussion, Ogata stated that the JCP proposed an initiative for peace and cooperation in Northeast Asia at its 26th Congress in January 2014. He stressed that the JCP initiative corresponds to a proposal made by South Korean President Park Geun-hye, and that nations in the region can take action to achieve this even though the Japan-U.S. and South Korea-U.S. military alliances still exist. Citing the establishment of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) in December 2011, he pointed out that the JCP plan has universal validity.

Ogata went on to say that ASEAN’s 48-year history as a community of peace shows the feasibility of an “East Asian community” for peace. Referring to the fact that the Bali Declaration, issued by Japan and ASEAN member nations in 2011, states the principles of nonintervention in the internal affairs of other countries as well as peaceful resolution of international disputes, he emphasized that there already exists a core security agreement based on peace in East Asia.

Keio University Professor Onishi Hiroshi cited a report that China’s GDP is expected to surpass the GDP of the United States in 2017. Criticizing the Abe administration for only trying to further strengthen ties with the U.S. to counter China, the professor stated that the need now is not to confront China but to think of how to peacefully deal with the ongoing changes in Asia.

Ahmad Ibrahim Almuttaqi, the ASEAN Studies Program Coordinator of the Habibie Center in Indonesia, said that to settle international conflicts, it is vital to promote comprehensive dialogues involving all parties concerned.

At the symposium, researchers from China, Vietnam, and South Korea spoke as well.