China and Japan ‘will both look to extend influence at Asian-African Conference’
President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will be in Indonesia to commemorate 60th anniversary since emerging nations vowed to oppose colonialism
China and Japan will be seen as jockeying to extend their influence in Asia and as far as Africa at this week’s gathering of leaders for the Asian-African Conference marking the 60 years since the emerging nations vowed to oppose colonialism, according to analysts.
President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe – along with representatives from about 80 nations – will be in Indonesia commemorating the anniversary of the conference that formed the basis for the Non-Aligned Movement diplomatic norm.
Xi will go to Indonesia after ending his tour in Pakistan on Tuesday.
The first Asian-African Conference was held in the city of Bandung, on Java island, in 1955 with the attendance of about 30 nations that were newly independent.
Refusing to take sides during the Cold War either with the United States or the Soviet Union, the nations vowed that they would not be aligned with or against any major power bloc.
The leaders attending the commemoration, which starts from Tuesday until Friday, will be there to back the non-alignment principle and reiterate that it is still valid in post-Cold War international order.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not attend the conference, even though India was a major player at the 1955 meeting, while South African President Jacob Zuma has cancelled his planned visiting because of the spread of violence at home.
The focus at the six-day conference is likely to be on how China and Japan flex their muscle to extend influence and how Xi and Abe interact amid the strained ties between the two countries.
On Monday Abe said he was ready to meet Xi during the conference.
“There will be feeling that China and Japan will competing for influence [ at the conference],” said Xu Liping, a professor studying diplomacy in southeast Asia at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
“But such competition will not be beneficial to the region if it is not properly managed.”
Xu said Xi would continue to push forward with the “One Belt One Road” initiative to bolster links between China and nations stretching from Asia to Africa, and the recently established Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
Xi might also use the occasion to call for leaders to reflect on history and the 70th anniversary of the end of the second world war – one of the grievances that was facing the bilateral ties between China and Japan, Xu added.
In his speech at the conference Abe was expected to explain Japan’s postwar path as a pacifist nation, and his “proactive pacifism” policy that has called for Japan to have a more active role in world stability, Japan’s Jiji news agency reported, adding that Japan would also announce measures for the development of Asia and Africa.
Oh Ei Sun, an analyst at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, said the competing sentiment between China and Japan was obvious, but the Southeast Asian nations would be cautious about letting it overshadow the conference.
“There are still other players, such as Indonesia, and they do not want their agenda to be overridden by those of China and Japan,” he said.
With the attendance of Middle Eastern countries leaders, such as Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, the ongoing conflict in Yemen will be on the agenda.
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation has called on Indonesia to mediate at talks on Yemen during the conference.
Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse
