East Asian Community Concept Reveals Complex Reality of Asian Region

In the big Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) family, when problems exist between Japan and the United States, the cordial family atmosphere has become somewhat embarrassing. More importantly, the logical thinking of the East Asian Community as proposed by Japanese Prime Minister Hatoyama even at this stage of conventional thinking, is that this is an East Asian Community involving “ASEAN plus 3 (ASEAN plus Japan and South Korea) or “ASEAN 10 plus 1” political pattern.
However, for such a regional integrated community, China is cautious. However, ASEAN hopes for an East Asian Community to have a wider scope to include the United States and India. In addition, the United States wants to get involved in it as well. Under such situation, the connotation of Japan's East Asian Community concept becomes unclear. It is blurred in its context of extension and expansion. The East Asian Community concept mooted by the Japanese leader can become a utopia.

Continual Rise of China
The main reason is that within the internal East Asia region, countries have not formed enough consensuses about this East Asian community. When the opinion of China, Japan and South Korea over the formation of East Asian Community remain unclear; with ASEAN member countries having doubt or even fear the continual rise of China; and with the United States worries that its status in East Asia might be sidelined, Hatoyama's East Asian Community looks more than a deep water bomb testing the water, but in the end opening up the geopolitical complexity of the East Asian region.
It brings to the reality that while the formation of this “regional body” is not difficult, but for all countries within the East Asian Community to reach consensus over what the community should do together become extremely difficult.

US-China Relationship
In addition, the US-China relationship has also become increasingly more and more difficult to predict. Interestingly, in addition to contradiction that exists in the US-Japan ties, of late, the function of APEC has also carried with it a dramatic color between China and the United States triggered by a speech delivered by Singapore Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew in the United States over his “Asian balance theory.”
This speech by Lee was interpreted by the Chinese media as “the United States wants to contain China theory.” While it is meaningless to debate the merits and demerits on this issue, but this incident does confirm two facts. First, the Asia-Pacific framework is going through a process of fundamental change. But this change is not caused by the chain reaction of China's growing strength.

Growing US Interest in Asia
This new change has caused anxiety and shock to ASEAN countries as they look at their old pattern of operations; this change has also forced China and the United States to reexamine the role they should play in the Asia-Pacific region. Second, on the surface, the United States says that it hopes China will play a “leading role” in the region, but beneath the surface, it is the US intention to increase its contact with ASEAN region. The US's intention to return to Asia has become the accelerated diplomatic strategy of the United States.
Following the US accession into the "Treaty of Amity and Cooperation", the United States can now engage in “ASEAN 10 plus 1” dialogue with ASEAN region. In addition, the United States is also keen to improve its relationship with Myanmar, one of the ASEAN countries. But the progressive engagement of contact with ASEAN by the United States is regarded by some public opinion in China as the United States exerting pressure on China.
Moreover, when the relationship between the United States and ASEAN countries turned deeper each time through contacts, ASEAN member countries would always regard such deeper contact as their diplomatic achievement. This stems from the basic principle that as small nations ASEAN member countries want to hold on as a group “to keep warm” so that the best interests of ASEAN can fit well in the power balance between China and the United States.
The United States is still a strong power. Although China is also getting stronger as days go by, the Chinese Government does not exclude or reject the presence of the United States in ASEAN. But to the Chinese common people, they feel that perhaps the United States really has the intention to resist the influence of China in Asia. Of concern is that the Chinese people and the Chinese community might send out a message that is different from the Chinese official view about the United States. Such message coming from the Chinese community will create a communication pattern, whereby the official stance over the role of the United States in Asia is quiet, but the public opinions are making a lot of noses about it. As such, to the United States and ASEAN, both parties should understand the societal situation in China and to deal with public opinions coming from China calmly. They cannot habitually blame China as adopting “nationalism” over their remarks on ASEAN or on the United States."

Importance of APEC
In fact, both the United States and China have a broader dialogue mechanism in the form of China-US Strategic Economic Dialogue mechanism. Both countries are also more concerned on using the G20 Summit as their global platform. To both China and the United States, the importance of APEC has somehow faded vis-a-vis the G20 Summit and the bilateral strategic dialogue between them. At this APEC Summit held in Singapore, many of the problems or the media arguments between China and the United States were triggered by ASEAN issue only. A metaphor to describe this phenomenon is that: “It is like a small ASEAN making two big countries jealous of each other.”
However, the characteristic of APEC Summit is harmony. Although it is difficult to untie the knot of certain issues in the US-China relationship, but over wines and drinks, the national leaders of both countries can still hold their glasses and send cheers to each other. More importantly, at this APEC, China has already reminded the United States not to engage too much in trade protectionism. This is a prelude the Chinese leader given to President Obama as he begins his China tour.

Obama Shows Diplomatic Flair in Handling International Situation

When the Dalai Lama was in the United States, President Barack Obama did not receive the visiting Tibetan spiritual leader. But one cannot interpret that President Obama had refused to meet with and exchange view with the Dalai Lama.

President Obama was just waiting for a more appropriate time to meet with him only. The ability of President Obama in using this old but still effective diplomatic skill in handling US-China diplomatic exchange has reflected the reality that the new US President has mastered some of the subtle diplomatic skills in handling international affairs and situation.

Important and Bigger Ideas
In November, President Obama will meet with Chinese leader Hu Jintao in Singapore. Following that meeting at the APEC Summit, President Obama knows that he will have more important and bigger ideas he wants to discuss with the Chinese leader. China has long declared to the world community that the Dalai Lama is a violent element who aims to separate Tibet from China, but President Obama, his Democratic Party, as well as the people in the United States have their own judgment about the Dalai Lama that can be very different from China's perspective.

However, when the Dalai Lama issue comes out at the diplomatic level, the judgment on the Dalai Lama has to be put on a different perspective. As such, when President Obama needs to talk to Chinese leader Hu Jintao, President Obama of course knows that he cannot upset Hu Jintao by meeting with the Dalai Lama during the period close to his meeting with the Chinese leader. President Obama knows that by not seeing the Dalai Lama, he at least can temporarily avoid having unnecessarily argument with China over the Dalai Lama issue.

President Obama understands perfectly well that although most of the past US presidents did receive the Dalai Lama or did enjoy the friendship with the Tibetan spiritual leader, it is not too convenience for him to meet with the Dalai Lama in his capacity as the US President now. Although President Obama did not receive the Dalai Lama, he has nevertheless allowed his Democrat leaders, leaders in the political circle and the local community to extend warm friendship with the visiting Dalai Lama.

President Obama knows that the Dalai Lama has too many friends in his Democratic Party as well as his rival Republican Party. As such when the Dalai Lama was in the United States, the visiting schedule of the Dalai Lama has proceeded as planned. In retrospect, President Obama has followed French President Nicolas Sarkozy's method in handling the controversial Dalai Lama issue to extend his friendship to the Dalai Lama in this indirect manner.

Dalai Lama's visit to France
Dalai Lama visited France in 2008. Prior to the Dalai Lama's visit to France, China had already given stern warning to the world community. China made clear that whichever countries received and made contact with the Dalai Lama, China would consider these countries as not respecting the wish of Beijing. Since Sarkozy wanted to go to China to attend the Beijing Olympics, Sarkozy knew that he could not afford to provoke China. So, when the Dalai Lama visited France in 2008, the French President found an excuse not to meet with the Dalai Lama. But after Sarkozy finished his important dealing with China and during a considerable low diplomatic period when France did not have major issue to deal with China, President Sarkozy did find an appropriate date and time to warmly welcome the Dalai Lama to France and compensated the temporarily broken friendship with the Tibetan spiritual leader.

Friendship Between Dalai Lama and US Political Circle
Such a diplomatic approach to see and meet with controversial figure at an appropriate date and time is simply and workable. As such President Obama has decided to copy such diplomatic pattern. We trust that after President Obama has settled what he wanted to discuss with the Chinese leader, he will pick a suitable date, perhaps during winter season, to invite the Dalai Lama to Washington for a visit. Yet there are many variable factors in international affairs.

Whether President Obama can find a suitable time to meet with the Dalai Lama will, to a great degree, depend on the US dealing with China. But since the United States and China will have frequent exchanges, President Obama might not have the time to receive the Dalai Lama. But even if President Obama puts his dealing with China above the Dalai Lama, we trust President Obama will not behave like the Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou who made effort to bar the Dalai Lama's entry into Taiwan. President Obama will show his diplomatic flair to allow the friendship between Dalai Lama and the US political circle and civil society to continue.