The Tokyo summit of Dec 17,
which commemorated 50 years of ties between Asean and Japan, owes much to the stabilising vision of the Fukuda Doctrine. Enunciated by former Japanese prime minister Takeo Fukuda in 1977, the doctrine commits Japan to the pursuit of peace, a “heart-to-heart” relationship with South-east Asia, and equal partnership with Asean. Japan’s 1978 treaty of peace and friendship with China soon inaugurated a new phase in its relations with a nation that had suffered terribly under imperial Japan during World War II, as indeed South-east Asia had done. Today, having upgraded their relationship to the highest-tier Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in September, Japan and Asean are poised to take five decades of an enduring relationship to greater heights in an era of uncertainty marked by distrust and tensions between the United States and China.
Addressing leaders at the summit,
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that Japan and Asean should work together to promote a “stable, open and inclusive regional and international order, based on the rule of law”. These principles are crucial to uphold the post-World War II period of peace and prosperity that has survived the great-power tensions of the Cold War to sustain a vibrant Asean, which Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida recognised as the linchpin of a free and open Indo-Pacific region and thus an important partner for Japan. The commemorative summit led to the adoption of a joint vision statement and a 130-point implementation plan which covers critical areas such as security, the economy and people-to-people exchanges.
