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Published on January 7, 2008

Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's year-end trip to Beijing was hailed as a milestone for Japan-China relations. China's warm and enthusiastic reception was highly visible, not to mention the much publicised brief baseball exhibition with Fukuda and his Chinese counterpart Prime Minister Wen Jiabao.

If this sentiment continues to strengthen as it should, Asean would need to transform itself from its long-held status of "go-between" into an "active partner". Otherwise, the myriad cooperation schemes that Asean has embarked upon with the two could be held back, if not made obsolete.

Asean leaders have been more fearful than they are willing to admit of improved Japan-China relations, which have come about due to rapidly increasing economic and investment interdependence as well as the shared destinies of the two countries. These points have been repeated by Japanese and Chinese leaders during visits to discuss their "strategic mutually beneficial relationship". They are fully aware of the potential of their friendship to serve as a pillar for regional stability and prosperity.

For the time being, Asean's greatest value rests on its ability to provide a neutral ground for the two countries to interact collectively and individually within the region. That explains why the Japanese and Chinese leaders have never failed to attend the annual Asean-plus-three summit (APT) since it started in 1997.

Indeed, the amelioration of their relations comes a bit too fast and unexpected as Asean has been preoccupied with drafting its charter and coping with Burma. Now Asean leaders understand that Japanese and Chinese leaders can be as pragmatic as them when they need to be, and focus on common ground rather than divisive issues. For instance, at the bilateral meeting in Beijing, both sides concentrated on strengthening existing cooperation and initiating new areas of assistance such as environmental protection and climate change, leaving contentious issues on disputed gas fields behind.

 During the Asian economic crisis in 1997, Asean brought together all East Asian economic powers to help one another, promoting the notion that Asians must cooperate. At that time, both Japan and China had their own approaches to rescuing the region from economic turbulence. Tokyo chose to provide more money and Beijing held the value of its currency with small loans. Their plans were not collaborated even though they shared the same objective. Later on, special financial mechanisms were created to facilitate a new sense of camaraderie that had emerged among East Asian countries following the financial crisis.

Through this process, Asean also came to grips with the implications of East Asian economic power. If the strength of these powers remained unchecked, Asean as a group could be submerged by their sheer size and greater economic clout. That fear lingers to this day.

Such insecurities have given rise to demands for Asean to be the centre of gravity in all activities that involve China, Japan and South Korea. When China was invited to attend the Asean ministerial meeting in Kuala Lumpur in 1992, nobody realised that China would later join hands with Japan and now Korea for cooperative efforts.

 When Malaysia proposed the establishment of the East Asian Summit (EAS) in 2003, Japan-China relations were at their nadir. Each was promoting its views and positions regarding the EAS. Their disagreements, coupled with Asean's desire to curb its more powerful partners, finally led to the EAS becoming another region-wide forum to discuss global issues along with India, Australia and New Zealand, not the community-building engine that many countries were led to believe it would become. Instead, the Asean-led APT process will spearhead East Asian community building.

Asean must re-engage both China and Japan and become reliable partners with them. To do so, it must forego its tendency to play Japan against China and vice-versa. Asean must treat them equitably. This mindset must be grafted into the grouping's thinking. For instance, Asean must be able to retain Japanese business and investment even if Japan has other options. Asean should not be content with being "an alternative to China" when relations between that country and Japan sour. Asean should work on its own attractiveness and competitiveness in the foreign-investment market.

After years of inertia, the prospect of an East Asian community looks brighter than before with improved Japan-China ties. Asean's main challenge is to ensure that it remains relevant in the new regional environment that will witness the rise of China and India, not to mention South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

Kavi Chongkittavorn