Daily Times

The recent two days visit of the Japanese foreign minister, Taro Kono to Pakistan is a land mark in the history of Pakistan-Japan bilateral relations. After nine years, a Japanese foreign minister has visited Pakistan which carries weight in the current regional and international political scenario. The visit also indicates that Japan has begun to look at its interests beyond the United States in South Asia and all over the world.

Since Donald Trump became the President of the United States, and more so after the global rejection of the US decision to shift its embassy to East Jerusalem on the floor of the UN General Assembly, Pakistan has been under attack by the US President. Pakistan was one of the sponsors of the resolution moved before the world body. Before voting, the US had threatened to cut aid to the countries that would support the resolution. Japan also voted in favour of the resolution and against the US.

Japan and the US are allies through a Treaty signed in 1952. Japan does not possess a military force suitable for offensive purposes. The Japanese Self Defence Force (SDF) is in fact a reserve police. The country has the US’ defence shield. Despite this arrangement, Japan took a principled stand against the US decision to shift its embassy. This indicates an important shift in the foreign policy of Japan. Now the visit of the Japanese foreign minister to Pakistan has given another indication that Japan has decided to protect its interests all over the world.

It is generally presumed that Japan’s foreign policy is governed in the framework of the US international agenda. But after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and end of the cold war, the world has been changing because slowly but surely, the US has been weakening regionally and internationally. Trump has proven to be a catalyst to this change. Trump’s Tweet based foreign policy has jolted the world and the US itself.

Japan has a territorial dispute with China. CPEC is an economic project but it certainly has political, social, cultural and strategic implications. China and Pakistan have invited all the countries to participate in the corridor. The US and India moved against CPEC. India has joined hands with Iran to develop the Chabahar seaport parallel to the Gwadar seaport.  Japan has some reservations and apprehensions on the concept of CPEC. Investment of other countries in CPEC may create difficulties for more than 50 Japanese companies working in Pakistan in different sectors. Japan wants to safeguard its interests in the region of South Asia. For this it has begun thinking beyond US interests.

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union and end of the cold war, the world has been changing because slowly but surely, the US has been weakening regionally and internationally. Trump has proven to be a catalyst to this change

Taro Kono, during his visit to Pakistan, met the Prime Minister, Foreign Minister and the Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan. During the discussion various points came under discussion including strategic relations and terrorism. The Japanese foreign minister lauded the efforts and sacrifices of Pakistan to counter and nab terrorism. According to the media during his meeting with the Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan, the Japanese foreign minister expressed its country’s interest in expanding security cooperation especially in counter terrorism with Pakistan. This all though not against but not in line with the policies of the United States.

The US may not dare to adventurism of reducing its political, economic and defence relations with Japan in backdrop of the resolutions passed by the United Nations on the US decision. Moreover, Japan’s reaffirmation of improved and increased cooperation in the field of counter terrorism has supported Pakistan’s efforts of combating terrorism. It is also signal to ‘Trump governance style’ that the US is becoming isolated day by day as its NATO allies also voted against it in the United Nations.

Japan may learn from the experience of the bilateral and multilateral relations between the US and Pakistan. The US always served its interests. Pakistan helped in initiating the process of normalisation of the relations between the US and China by arranging visit of Henry Kissinger to China in 1971. Moreover, the US would not have defeated the Soviet Union in Afghanistan without help of Pakistan. On other enormous occasions Pakistan helped the US which enabled it to maintain its superiority in the world affairs. Moreover, the US is a country which may not restrain itself from dropping atomic bomb on population for achieving its ulterior motives.

The writer is an author and has a doctorate in Political Science

Published in Daily Times, January 9^th 2018.