Japan's Abe Seeks To Cement Ties With Thailand Amid China Spat

[webfact]

THAI-JAPANESE RELATIONS

Abe seeks to cement ties amid China spat

Thanong Khanthong

The Nation

File photo : Abe//EPA

Japanese PM arrives tomorrow seeking wide-ranging partnership and trade boost

BANGKOK: -- Fresh from his election victory, Shinzo Abe, the Japanese prime minister, will be travelling to Bangkok tomorrow to propose a broad strategic partnership with Thailand as part of Japan's aggressive drive to rekindle its relationship with Southeast Asia.

Abe, accompanied by a 100-strong delegation and 50 members from the Japanese media, will arrive in Bangkok for an official visit from Vietnam before leaving for Indonesia on Friday.

A senior official at the Japanese Embassy in Bangkok said Abe's three-country visit reinforces Japan's view that "relations with Asean are vital for Japan."

Abe is embarking on the Asean tour at a time when Japan is facing growing tension with China over territorial disputes.

Recent anti-Japanese sentiment in China has also dampened Japan's confidence in China as its largest trading partner.

Already - between January 9 and 14 - Fumio Kishida, Japan's foreign minister, has visited the Philippines, Singapore, Brunei and Australia. On January 4, Taro Aso, Japan's deputy prime minister and finance minister, paid a visit to Myanmar.

Abe's visit to Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia will conclude the sweeping regional tour of Japan's top leaders to strengthen the alliances.

The Japanese official said the Japanese prime minister is in no hurry to visit China.

Japanese officials in Bangkok said Abe's schedule tomorrow will cover his visit to the Thailand-Japan Technical Institute.

Abe will also be granted an audience with His Majesty the King at Siriraj Hospital.

He will then proceed to Government House to hold bilateral talks with Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, followed by a joint news conference and an official dinner function.

There will be some key points up for discussion between the two sides, including the strategic alliance that covers economic, political, social and cultural ties.

Japanese officials said Abe is also interested in strengthening economic ties through a master plan for flood prevention in the central part of Thailand. Japanese companies are also interested in taking part in transport projects in Thailand. Cultural exchange will feature on the agenda too.

Moreover, Abe will be asking Yingluck to play a constructive role in bringing about peaceful negotiations according to international laws to the ongoing conflict between China and some Asean members in the South China Sea. Thailand is now acting as coordinating country in the negotiations over the South China Sea conflict.

Asked about the Dawei project in Myanmar, the Japanese official said Yingluck might raise this subject with Abe, who is also keen to see a final proposal. Myanmar has asked Japan to participate in the Dawei project. Thailand will negotiate the final terms of the Dawei project with Myanmar in early February, a complicated task that also involves the Italian-Thai Group.

Japan is Thailand's largest trading partner. Last year Japan was also Thailand's largest foreign investor, pouring some Bt320 billion into investment projects. Thailand is now Japan's highly important automotive and electronics production base.

-- The Nation 2013-01-16

[Locationthailand]

Seems every Asian Nation sees China as a threat, apart from needing trade. Vietnam, Philippines, South Korea, certainly Taiwan and now Japan. Scary thought if unrest should raise its ugly head in this region.

[Mosha]

I wouldn't place much hope in Thailand helping out, given how the Hi-Sos are Chinese.

[noitom]

No love lost by Asian nations for Japan. None of them will truly ever forget the atrocities of WW II. Maybe Thailand will. Thailand who declared war on the US and Great Britain on December 8, 1942 and became an ally of Imperial Japan might be Japan's enduring "partner." If one could ever really view Thailand as a trusted partner.

[Samuimike1]

This was the reason, Obama visit Thailand.

http://www.isn.ethz.ch/isn/Digital-Library/Articles/Detail/?id=156075

[bigbamboo]

Thailand needs to do it's traditional fence sitting here as practised to good effect by King Mongut many moons ago.

Can't upset the Chinese above all.

[Terry Newman]

Seems every Asian Nation sees China as a threat, apart from needing trade. Vietnam, Philippines, South Korea, certainly Taiwan and now Japan. Scary thought if unrest should raise its ugly head in this region.

the Chinese are trying to surround it as well. With Military bases in Srilanka, Seashells and an expected naval base in the Maldives soon.

[geriatrickid]

No love lost by Asian nations for Japan. None of them will truly ever forget the atrocities of WW II. Maybe Thailand will. Thailand who declared war on the US and Great Britain on December 8, 1942 and became an ally of Imperial Japan might be Japan's enduring "partner." If one could ever really view Thailand as a trusted partner.

Well, if history is anything to go on, Thailand makes a nice "partner" for invaders.. Maybe the Japanese can give the military some new medals and ribbons to put on their uniforms. T

his is the Thailand Indochina medal from 1941 when Thailand started its war with Laos and Cambodia. The Thai inscription reads "We fight for Thailand's honour". Ahh, yes the Thai- Japanese legacy: Honour.

Edited January 16, 2013 by geriatrickid

[geriatrickid]

Thailand needs to do it's traditional fence sitting here as practised to good effect by King Mongut many moons ago.

Can't upset the Chinese above all.

Why not? The Japanese give more aid and have funded more big ticket projects than China has. Look at the BKK subway - financed with generous donations from Japan.

[quiksilva]

They also invest more in Thailand than any other nation by a huge margin. In Q3 2012, Japanese investment made up 65% of FDI in the Kingdom.

[TheGhostWithin]

This will be an interesting test of the current Thai mindset. Which will win out?

- Thai greed and hunger for Japanese investment to prove Thailand really is a global financial "hub", OR

- Loyalty to the "homeland" (in an ancestral sense) of China to prove Thailand is an "honorable" friend.

Either choice has its' individual pros and cons, and either decision will have repercussions. A siding with the Japanese would no doubt see Thailand used again as a "hub" of new allied attack weapons (maybe even prior to confirmed aggression by China) to further surround the threat, a siding with the Chinese would see the obvious financial souring with the Japanese and perhaps a less friendly immigration approach to Thais in Japan.

As usual, we can say "this is Thailand, she spends less than $1 a day - but she makes much more. Sponsor her now.. a little lady with red gumboots (Wellingtons for those of the other English) waits".

[webfact]

Japan PM heads to SE Asia on first overseas tour

TOKYO, Jan 16, 2013 (AFP) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday left for Southeast Asia on his first overseas trip since winning power, seeking to shore up relationships as a counterweight to an increasingly confident China.

Abe's visit to Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia is also aimed at strengthening ties with the vibrant economies of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations bloc as Japan attempts to reinvigorate its sluggish economy.

The conservative leader, who took office in December, originally said Washington would be his first overseas destination, but scheduling difficulties with a busy US President Barack Obama appear to have scuppered the plan.

Before leaving Tokyo, Abe told reporters that he wished to boost ties with countries that shared common values such as democracy and the rule of law.

"I want to make my first foreign trip this time the start of the Abe government's strategic diplomacy," said Abe, who scored a handsome election win after talking tough on a territorial dispute with China.

"Currently, the strategic environment in the Asia-Pacific region is going through a dynamic change. During this change, having closer relations with ASEAN countries contributes to the region's peace and stability and is in Japan's national interest," he said.

Abe's 2013 stance is in sharp contrast to his previous stint as premier in 2006-2007, when he made China his first foreign stop in a bid to repair ties soured by his predecessor Junichiro Koizumi.

Japan and China are locked in a bitter battle over the sovereignty of the Tokyo-controlled Senkaku islands, which Beijing calls the Diaoyus.

Beijing is also involved in acrimonious territorial disputes with the Philippines and Vietnam over parts of the South China Sea with abundant energy reserves and rich fishing grounds.

During his trip, Abe is expected to deliver a policy speech in Jakarta on Friday, reports said.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2013-01-16

[TomTao]

Seems every Asian Nation sees China as a threat, apart from needing trade. Vietnam, Philippines, South Korea, certainly Taiwan and now Japan. Scary thought if unrest should raise its ugly head in this region.

China has been spending big on it's armed forces for the last couple of decades, modernising weapons and equipment as well as developing some new weapons, if regional relations went south in a big way then ASEAN would be in trouble, if for no other reason then the sheer size of the Chinese military which numbers more than a million, everybodies military resources would be taxed, and not just those from Asia.

[belidofan]

Thailand needs to do it's traditional fence sitting here as practised to good effect by King Mongut many moons ago.

Can't upset the Chinese above all.

.....but they can upset the rest of the world and in particular the SE region, at will???......china is NOT to be trusted, the chinese mandarins have greed in their genes, whereas the japanese have proven continuesly to be ready to genuinly help the countries of the region. My boy-cott of chinese products produced by chinese owned factories will continue.