Asia Pacific Agenda Project | Tokyo Forum 2005

February 25–26, 2005
Tokyo

The 10th APAP Forum was held on February 25–26, 2005, in Tokyo. Nearly 50 participants from throughout the Asia Pacific region gathered to discuss the theme of “Engaging the United States in an Emerging East Asia Community.”

The first session, “Visions of East Asia Community,” offered participants an opportunity to discuss the recent dramatic increase in regional interaction and its impact on political thinking, the frustration felt by those in the region with existing regional and supraregional structures, and the potential that greater cooperation holds for the promotion of peace and stability, as well as in tackling various shared challenges. The wisdom of engaging with the United States early in this process was debated, with most agreeing that the United States continues to be needed as a key player in Asia, and particularly in Northeast Asia, for the foreseeable future.

The second session focused on “U.S. Interests and Goals in East Asia,” and featured presentation by several noted American policy experts. In general, the sense among the Americans was that the East Asia community was already a reality and that exaggerated notions of the political implications such a community would have for the United States were counterproductive. The final session examined the theme of “Changes and Adjustments Required for Realization of East Asian Regionalism.” The participants reviewed the nature of East Asia community building, the need to delineate a clear vision of what that entails, and what the potential benefits might be. In particular, participants focused on how best to engage the United States in this process, how to improve understanding among Americans of what is currently happening in East Asia, and how future developments should be reconciled with current American alliance relationships.

A number of prominent guest speakers addressed the forum, including José Ramos-Horta, foreign minister of Timor-Leste; Representative Iwao Matsuda, Chief Secretary of the Liberal Democratic Party’s Research Commission on Foreign Affairs; and Hitoshi Tanaka, Japan’s deputy foreign minister.

February 25

Session I: “Visions of East Asia Community”
Moderator: Jusuf Wanandi, Founding Member, Centre for Strategic and International Studies, Jakarta, Indonesia

Panelists: Choi Young-jin, Ambassador (PR) designate to the UN; Former Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Korea
Jesus P. Estanislao, Chairman, Institute of Corporate Directors; Philippines
Hadi Soesastro, Executive Director, Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Jakarta, Indonesia
Akihiko Tanaka, Director, Institute of Oriental Culture, University of Tokyo, JapanDinner
Presentation: Hitoshi Tanaka, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, Japan

Special Guest: José Ramos-Horta, Senior Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Timor-Leste

February 26

Session II: “U.S. Interests and Goals in East Asia”
Moderator: Charles E. Morrison, President, The East-West Center, U.S.A.

Panelists: J. Stapleton Roy, Chairman, The United States Asia Pacific Council, U.S.A.
Gerald L. Curtis, Burgess Professor of Political Science, East Asian Institute, Columbia University, U.S.A.
Ed Lincoln, Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations, U.S.A.

Lunch

Remarks: Iwao Matsuda, Chief Secretary, Research Commission on Foreign Affairs, Liberal Democratic Party (LDP); Member of the House of Councilors, Japan

Session III: “Changes and Adjustments Required for Realization of East Asian Regionalism”
Moderator: Tadashi Yamamoto, President, Japan Center for International Exchange

Panelists: Han Sung-joo, Former Ambassador to the United States, Korea
Zhang Yunling, Director, Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, China
Yoichi Funabashi, Chief Diplomatic Correspondent and Columnist, Asahi Shimbun, Japan
Peter Drysdale, Emeritus Professor, Asia Pacific School of Economics & Management, Australian National University

Dinner Meeting

Mark Borthwick

Director, The United States Asia Pacific Council, U.S.A.

Suchit Bunbongkarn

Professor Emeritus, Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University; Senior Fellow, Institute of Security and International Studies (ISIS), Thailand

Chin Kin Wah

Senior Fellow, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore

Choi Young-jin

Ambassador (PR) designate to the UN; Former Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Korea

Gerald L. Curtis

Burgess Professor of Political Science, Columbia University, U.S.A.

Peter Drysdale

Emeritus Professor of Economics and Visiting Fellow, Asia Pacific School of Economics and Government, The Australian National University, Australia

Jesus P. Estanislao

Chairman, Institute of Corporate Directors; President and Chief Executive Officer, Institute for Solidarity in Asia, Philippines

Akiko Fukushima

Director of Policy Studies and Senior Fellow, National Institute for Research Advancement (NIRA), Japan

Yoichi Funabashi

Chief Diplomatic Correspondent and Columnist, Asahi Shimbun, Japan

Han Sung-joo

Former Ambassador to the United States, Korea

Carolina G. Hernandez

Professor of Political Science, University of the Philippines; Chair of the Board of Directors, Institute for Strategic and Development Studies, Inc., Philippines

Ryokichi Hirono

Professor Emeritus, Seikei University, Japan

Ken’ichi Ito

President & CEO, The Japan Forum on International Relations, Inc., Japan

Ken Jimbo

Senior Visiting Fellow, Keio Research Institute at SFC; Lecturer, Department of Policy Management, Keio University, Japan

Noritake Kai

Councilor, The Japan Forum on International Relations, Japan

Hiroshi Kawamura

Director, Policy Planning Division, Foreign Policy Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan

Masato Kimura

Director of Research, Shibusawa Ei’ichi Memorial Foundation; Professor, Bunkyo Gakuin University, Japan

Takashi Kiuchi

Statutory Auditor, Shinsei Trust & Banking Co., Ltd., Japan

Akira Kojima

Chairman, Japan Center for Economic Research (JCER); Senior Advisor, Nikkei Editorial Committee, Japan

Jun’etsu Komatsu

Managing Director, Japanese and Intellectual Exchange Department, The Japan Foundation, Japan

Stephen Leong

Assistant Director-General, Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS), Malaysia

Edward J. Lincoln

Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations, U.S.A.

Iwao Matsuda

Chief Secretary, Research Commission on Foreign Affairs, Liberal Democratic Party (LDP); Member of the House of Councillors, Japan

Charles E. Morrison

President, East-West Center, U.S.A.

Masashi Nishihara

President, National Defense Academy, Japan

Francis N. Pangilinan

Majority Leader, Senate of the Republic of the Philippines

Pham Sanh Chau

Deputy Director General, Institute for International Relations (IIR), Vietnam

J. Stapleton Roy

Chairman, The United States Asia Pacific Council, U.S.A.

Yukio Satoh

President, The Japan Institute of International Affairs; Former Ambassador to the United Nations, Japan

Michael Schiffer

International Affairs Fellow in Japan (Hitachi Fellow), Council on Foreign Relations; Visiting Research Fellow, National Institute for Defense Studies, U.S.A.

Masahide Shibusawa

President, Shibusawa Ei’ichi Memorial Foundation, Japan

Chanto Doung Sisowath

Assistant Dean and Lecturer, Faculty of Social Sciences and International Relations, Pannasastra University of Cambodia

Hadi Soesastro

Executive Director, Centre for Strategic and International Studies, Jakarta, Indonesia

Masayuki Tadokoro

Professor, Faculty of Law, Keio University, Japan

Akio Takahara

Professor, Rikkyo University, Japan

Akihiko Tanaka

Director, Institute of Oriental Culture, University of Tokyo, Japan

Hitoshi Tanaka

Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, Japan

Jusuf Wanandi

Founding Member, Centre for Strategic and International Studies, Jakarta, Indonesia

Koji Watanabe

Senior Fellow, Japan Center for International Exchange, Japan

Taizo Yakushiji

Member, Council for Science and Technology Policy of the Cabinet Office; Executive Research Director, International Institute for Policy Studies (IIPS); Professor, Political Science, Keio University, Japan

Takio Yamada

Director, Regional Policy Division, Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan

Tadashi Yamamoto

President, Japan Center for International Exchange, Japan

Zhang Yunling

Director, Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, China

Special Guests

José Ramos-Horta

Senior Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste

Hideaki Asahi

Ambassador of Japan to Timor-Leste

Observers

Keeyong Chung

First Secretary and Attorney at Law (NY, U.S.A.), Embassy of the Republic of Korea, Tokyo

Jiang Peng

Second Secretary, Political Affairs, Embassy of the People’s Republic of China

Bruce Miller

Minister-Counselor (Political), The Australian Embassy, Tokyo

Marco Salvio

Second Secretary, Strategic Political Section, The Australian Embassy, Tokyo

Andrew Willis

Third Secretary, Strategic Political Section, The Australian Embassy, Tokyo

Yeon Sang Mo

Counselor, Embassy of the Republic of Korea, Tokyo