Posted on 08/22/2007 9:20:47 PM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
Japanese PM calls for 'arc of freedom' spanning Pacific
Wed Aug 22, 4:12 AM ET
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called for a new four-way "arc of freedom and prosperity" with India, Australia and the United States on Wednesday in a speech to the Indian parliament.
"A new broader Asia that broke away from geographical boundaries is now beginning to take on a distinct form," said Abe, who began a three-day visit to India on Tuesday.
Japan is working to ensure that "a region called the 'arc of freedom and prosperity' will be formed along the outer rim of the Eurasian continent," Abe told Indian lawmakers.
"The strategic global partnership of Japan and India is pivotal for such pursuits to be successful," he added.
"By Japan and India coming together in this way, this 'broader Asia' will evolve into an immense network spanning the entirety of the Pacific Ocean incorporating the United States of America and Australia," he said.
The backbone of the four-way strategic and economic alliance would be the sharing of basic values such as freedom, democracy as well as economic clout, Abe said.
"Open and transparent, this network will allow people, goods, capital and knowledge to flow freely," the prime minister told Indian lawmakers.
Abe also called for the early conclusion of a "high-quality economic partnership" with India and forecast a more than doubling of trade between the two nations to 20 billion dollars in three years from eight billion currently.
His remarks came after top Japanese and Indian commerce officials at a business forum vowed to see the partnership pact realised by December.
"India and Japan need to jointly meet the challenges of the new economic architecture," Indian Commerce Minister Kamal Nath said, adding he would work to ensure "this agreement by the end of the year."
Abe, who is accompanied by nearly 200 top Japanese executives, was slated to meet Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh later Wednesday to discuss a number of investment projects including a New Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor.
Abe is due on Thursday to meet the son of the late Radhabinod Pal, the lone judge who dissented at the Allied tribunal that condemned to death war-time Japanese leaders.
"Justice Pal is highly respected even today by many Japanese for the noble spirit of courage he exhibited during the International Military Tribunal for the Far East," said Abe, whose grandfather was charged but never tried for war crimes.
Abe has dismissed suggestions that meeting Pal's son would anger other Asian nations resentful over Japan's war-time atrocities.
My first thought, too! HA!
How is it being received by other countries? I understand that there is still some bad blood over WWII.
the right: S. Korea could be outmaneuvered by Japan and cut out of loop.
the left: Don’t worry. India would not lean to Japan and US camp. India is just making nice to everyone.
People here are always suspicious of Japan’s move.
Nit. He’s the head of government, not the head of state.
In Japan, the Emperor is the head of state.
The Emperor is only a figurehead - much Like the Queen of England. They lack any power over their nations.
I’m not much of a Merkel fan (Gitmo?) but so far I really like the Brit!
Maybe they can call it the Security and Prosperity Partnership. Nope, that one’s taken.
But one thing prevented them from ever coming even close. I can't tell you exactly what. But it is a five letter word which starts with an "I" and ends with an "M".
I'm glad I'm not the only one who remembers that ... still, Japan seems to have benefited from the attitude adjustment we gave them in 1945. I'm willing to "trust but verify".
Until 1989 or so, the country was officially secular. That changed, and the system no longer worked.
Yes, Islam.
Absolutely. However, the Queen and Emperor are both heads of state and outrank their Prime Ministers, who are only heads of government.
The US is unusual in that the President fills both roles, although this is true in some other countries also. In most republics there is a president with little direct political power who nevertheless outranks his premier in a formal sense. Israel, India, Ireland, Iran, Iraq are some examples just from the I’s.
True enough. Which is why I said it was just a nit.
The President in most republics fills the ceremonial roles of the old absolute monarchs, and in theory appoints the premier and has the usually theoretical power to remove him from office.
The theory behind this is that the president is above politics, just as the British or Japanese monarch is, and thus can serve as a symbol of national unity without partisan issues getting involved. Parties and administrations come and go, but the nation endures.
btt
I guess “The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere” didn’t work out the way they had intended.
In case one is curious, most of the “sub-prime mortgage collateralized obligation” ruckus is due to Japan getting super cheap access to the US market (120 - 130 Yen / US Dollar) and China getting the “strengthen the Yuan” and “level the playing field” tariff threatening rhetoric. The Chinese stopped buying new CDO paper in May - June with the result that the US and European banks in the last three weeks needed one trillion dollars in "emergency" funding to stay open.
The Chinese lack the dollar reserves to pull this off by themselves, I think; as I read things petroleum producing government dollar reserves were pulled out of the CDO market on and just previous to July 17th with the results we have all seen. These dollar reserves are something like ten - fifteen times larger than China's.
I don't think we will see much of dumb as rocks US politicians talking about putting tariffs and "health inspections" on Chinese goods for a while. Probably we have seen the last of the poisoned pet food - lead paint on Mattel toys type stories too. The Chinese showed us unmistakably that they can crash the US and international banking system at will and WILL NOT be pushed around.
"Crashing the banking system" is the same thing as "almost all really rich people are suddenly without a nickel." Not exaggerating.
I know. I did not realize that oil-producing countries are working in concert with China.
The lesson from globalized finance:
We have no choice to buy hazardous craps to keep our financial system afloat.
I suppose this will continue until the system crashes at not-so-distant future.
The following points to Chinese operations in the Gulf:
http://www.kuwaittimes.net/read_news.php?newsid=MTMwMDY2Nzc0
Published Date: August 27, 2007
“KUWAIT: Head of Public Relations at Kuwait Investment Authority Dalal Al-Rifae said the authority will receive a high ranking Chinese delegation representing major economic and investment companies as part of a tour in the Gulf region. Al-Rifae stressed that the visit comes out of the authority’s keenness to strengthen its relations with Chinese companies through the meeting of both sides to discuss joint economic topics.”
The following article can be read as a veiled threat to sell dollar denominated assets suddenly and massively, “more in sorrow than in anger”, of course:
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=6§ion=0&article=100484&d=27&m=8&y=2007
Sad that such pan-global visions no longer originate in the USA.
Re-arm Japan and turn them loose.
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