New leaders hold key to Asia-Pacific ties

Sovereignty issues

Abe also intends to visit Russia in April or May to talk to Russian President Vladimir Putin about disputes over the sovereignty of four Pacific islands, called the Northern Territories in Japan and Southern Kuril Islands in Russia.

Last week, Japanese Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso concluded a visit to Myanmar and former Japanese finance minister Fukushiro Nukaga wrapped up a trip to the ROK in which he acted as the prime minister's special envoy.

ROK Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan said on Friday that he remains cautious about the prospects of improving his country's strained ties with Japan. Various signs have emerged suggesting how difficult a rapprochement will be to bring about.

A 63-year-old ROK activist recently stabbed himself in Seoul, Yonhap News Agency reported, in a protest over the envoy's visit.

The Nation newspaper in Bangkok warned in an editorial on Dec 31 that the future of Asia could be endangered if China, Japan and the ROK continue to be uncomfortable with one another.

Asia will continue to loom large on Washington's policy horizon this year. US President Barack Obama will find himself freer in his final term in office to aggressively pursue his policy of pivoting toward Asia.

The US, the biggest external power for the Asia-Pacific region, does not want to see Asia slip out of control or China threaten its global influence, Wang Junsheng said.

"Both the US and Russia will be paying a lot of attention to the Far East," Shi Yinhong said. "The former will do so mainly out of economic interests and the latter mainly for strategic reasons, including keeping China's rapid growth in check."

Putin, who was sworn in for a third term as Russian president in May, has pledged to develop Russia's depressed eastern Siberian and far east regions by having the country become more involved with economies in Asia, which include China, Japan and the ROK.

The plans call for new laws and tax reforms, among other changes.

Shi said the territorial disputes between Russia and Japan may even come to be perceived as being negligible against the backdrop of the potential benefits of economic cooperation.

Obama, meanwhile, has placed a priority on maintaining the security of the Asia-Pacific region, proposing to do so by strengthening the United States' long-standing alliances with Japan and the ROK, as well as reaching out to new potential partners such as Vietnam.

Obama is looking to other places in the region as well. Fresh from his re-election victory in November, he became the first sitting US president to visit Myanmar.

Washington's tactics here result from the belief that the best way to manage China will be to establish a system that encourages it to play by the rules set collectively by its neighbors, Ernest Z. Bower, senior adviser and chair for Southeast Asia Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said in an article.

Yet, despite repeated statements about the "constructive role" China can play in Asia, the increasing US military presence and frequent drills with other countries have aggravated regional tensions.

The US can only play a small role in repairing Tokyo and Seoul's strained relations in the face of strong public opposition to a reconciliation from the ROK, Wang said.

The new ROK chief, Park Geun-hye, who is perceived as not being as hard-line as her predecessor, has urged Japan to "squarely face" the two nations' shared history.

Experts said Obama may take lessons from his first term as president and adjust his Asian "rebalancing" policy, but Washington's greater emphasis on Asia in the next four years will further complicate regional difficulties.