Asia version of NATO resurfaces with Gillard's Asia visits

Islam Times reports from People's daily Online: The Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, has moved to strengthen defence ties with Japan and will seek to elevate links with South Korea, adding to China's unease about new US-anchored security networks emerging on its borders.

Ms Gillard and Japan's Prime Minister, Naoto Kan, emerged from talks to instruct their governments to ''take forward … a vision for bilateral security and defence co-operation'', pledging to complete an intelligence-sharing agreement before the next foreign and defence ministerial consultations.

''Australia and Japan have a shared perspective in our region,'' she said. ''We certainly are constructively engaged with China and we share the view that we want to see China become a full participant in the rules-based global order.'' Mr Kan was glowing about Australia's ''heartwarming'' support after the tsunami, in the context of the simmering nuclear crisis.

Ms Gillard will also seek to entrench regular defence talks with South Korea, probably based on the Japanese model, when she meets the Prime Minister, Lee Myung-bak, in Seoul on Monday, according to Tokyo sources.

''What Australia is trying to do is bring the security relationship with South Korea up to the standard with Japan,'' said Rory Medcalf of the Lowy Institute.

''Yes, of course China is nervous,'' said Zhu Feng, professor of international relations at Peking University. ''We are afraid such bilateral arrangements will expand into a multilateral alliance system.''

China's display of a more aggressive foreign policy and military posture, especially last year, has prompted neighbours to respond with new US-anchored security networks and to strengthen existing ones.

Tomohiko Satake, a researcher at the National Institute for Defence Studies, wrote recently it was possible to interpret rapidly strengthening Japan-Australia security co-operation as a kind of ''hedging'', a strategy in preparation for the rise of China.
He noted Chinese analysts were concerned the triangular relationship, with the US at its core, could develop into an ''Asia version of NATO''.

Ken Jimbo, an associate professor at Keio University in Tokyo, said Ms Gillard's show of support to tsunami-ravaged Japan could help push forward plans for a four-way security dialogue involving the US, Japan, Australia and South Korea.

''Australia should be at the core of Japan's expanding sphere of defence co-operation,'' said Professor Jimbo, a security expert. ''This could be a very promising framework and, inside that, intelligence sharing will be the thing that moves it forward.''

This week China's Rear Admiral Yang Yi told the Herald that Australia's growing US-anchored defence links were not in Australia's national interest. But Professor Zhu at Peking University said such links would have ''some positive effect on China'' because it would make China's foreign policy actors less likely to be seduced into ''risk-taking policies'' in the region.

Gillard has told Japanese counterpart Naoto Kan it is vital that the US lift its political engagement in the Asia-Pacific region to promote security in the face of the rise of China. Prime Minister called on other nations in the region to lock China into established political and economic forums to promote co-operation. A strong and successful China would be good for Australia and Japan, the Prime Minister said. 

When Ms Gillard visited US President Barack Obama in Washington last month, she urged him to shift his nation's political attention towards the Asia-Pacific region, and offered co-operation as the US continued a defence review that could see it shift more military assets such as ships to the region.

Ms Gillard told the Japan National Press Club yesterday that Australia had a constructive and friendly relationship with China but said all nations in the region needed to work to cope with winds of change.

"The region is in strategic flux, where changing power relativities are playing out against a backdrop of historical mistrust and conflict," Ms Gillard said.

"Stability and security depend on the integral role of the US and on developing the right regional architecture to encourage co-operation on security challenges and the peaceful settlement of disputes."

Ms Gillard said it was pleasing the US and Russia would this year become participants in the East Asian Summit, which would put them into the same room as China and Australia in a group that could address all security, political and economic issues facing the region. 

"A prosperous China engaged in regional affairs is good for Australia, good for the region and good for Japan."