Hatoyama arrives in Thailand with 'East Asian community' initiative+

BANGKOK, Oct. 23 Kyodo -
Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama arrived in Thailand on Friday to meet
his Asia-Pacific counterparts in a series of summits at which he is expected to
seek support for his ''East Asian community'' concept for closer regional
cooperation.

During the summits related to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations,
Hatoyama is expected to show Japan's commitment to ASEAN and engage in
discussions on ways to enhance regional cooperation from various aspects
including finance, food security, disaster preparedness, climate change and
disarmament.
Noting that Japan has roles it should play as a member of Asia, Hatoyama said
before his departure, ''As one such role, it is important to conceive of the
image of a community in East Asia, though it is a long-term vision.''
''I will go to ASEAN (meetings) carrying such feelings,'' he told reporters in
Tokyo.
The meetings that Hatoyama is scheduled to attend in the seaside resorts of Hua
Hin and Cha-am are the Japan-ASEAN summit, the ASEAN-plus-three summit,
involving the 10 members of ASEAN as well as China, Japan and South Korea, and
the 16-nation East Asia Summit. He may also hold several bilateral talks on the
sidelines.
Issues related to the North Korean nuclear standoff and the situation in
Myanmar, where pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi remains detained, may also
be taken up, a senior Japanese Foreign Ministry official said.
Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Masayuki Naoshima is accompanying Hatoyama
for meetings involving his counterparts.
The ASEAN-related summit meetings had been delayed since last December due to
political unrest in Thailand. The meetings were moved to April in Pattaya, but
were canceled amid anti-Thai government protests.
Hatoyama's three-day visit to Thailand comes amid high attention from other
countries over his initiative to seek the creation of an ''East Asian
community'' as a long-term goal.
But he has been vague about specifics such as which countries should be
involved in the framework.
Hatoyama is unlikely to cite specific member countries he has in mind in the
East Asian community concept during the series of summit meetings, but will
make clear that East Asian nations, including ASEAN, will be the core and that
the involvement of the United States is ''extremely important,'' Deputy Chief
Cabinet Secretary Yorihisa Matsuno said aboard the government plane bound for
Thailand.
Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada said earlier this month he thinks the
envisioned community would group the ASEAN members, Japan, China and South
Korea, as well as India, Australia and New Zealand -- which coincide with the
EAS framework. But he noted that such a grouping is not intended to exclude the
United States or other countries he did not mention.
The senior Foreign Ministry official said he believes that ASEAN leaders are
hoping to hear directly the ideas advocated by Hatoyama, who became prime
minister in September after a historic change of power in Japan.
The Democratic Party of Japan, led by Hatoyama, is seeking a foreign policy
more independent of the United States, Japan's closest ally, while hoping to
build stronger ties with neighboring Asian countries.
At the Japan-ASEAN summit, Hatoyama is expected to offer support for ASEAN's
efforts to build a community by 2015 amid economic disparities within the
regional bloc.
On the ASEAN-plus-three level, the 13 leaders are likely to affirm the need to
end necessary preparations by the end of the year for the upgrading of the
existing network of bilateral currency swap schemes to a multilateral
operation, according to another Foreign Ministry official.
The so-called Chiang Mai Initiative Multilaterization is aimed at effectively
responding to a financial crisis. The web of bilateral swap deals was set up in
2000 as part of regional efforts to avert a financial crisis similar to the
1997-1998 Asian turmoil.
Meanwhile, the East Asia Summit may be the main stage for Hatoyama to talk
about the East Asian community concept as the meeting has originally been
designed for leaders to discuss issues interactively, he said.
Hatoyama referred to the concept during a speech at the United Nations in
September, saying he hopes the idea will gradually take shape as potential
partners work together on such fields as free trade, finance, currency, energy,
the environment and disaster relief.
The 10-member ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia,
Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
==Kyodo
2009-10-23 23:58:38