Japan and the shaping of post-Vietnam War Southeast Asia: Japanese diplomacy and the Cambodian conflict, 1978-1993 (Politics in Asia)

The Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia in 1978 and the consequent outbreak of the Cambodian conflict brought Southeast Asia into instability and deteriorated relations between Vietnam and the subsequently established Vietnam-backed government in Cambodia on the one hand and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries on the other. As a result of the conflict, the Soviet Union established a foothold in Southeast Asia while China, through its support of the anti-Vietnam Cambodian resistance, improved relations with Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand. Japan's Fukuda Doctrine - it’s declared priorities of promoting cooperative and friendly relations between Communist Indochinese nations and non-Communist ASEAN countries – became increas¬ingly at odds with Japan’s role as a member of the Free World in the broader Cold War confrontation. Tokyo had to steer a path between Washington’s hard-line policy of isolating Vietnam and its own desire to prevent regional destabilization. Against this background, this book addresses the following questions: what was Japan’s response to the challenges to its objectives and interests in Southeast Asia and to the Fukuda Doctrine? What role did Japan play for the settlement of the conflict in Cambodia? How did Japan’s diplomacy on the Cambodian problem affect the Japanese role in the region? It argues that Japan’s contribution was more active than has widely been recognized. "The Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia in 1978 and the consequent outbreak of the Cambodian conflict brought Southeast Asia into instability and deteriorated relations between Vietnam and the subsequently established Vietnam-backed government in Cambodia on the one hand and the ASEAN countries on the other. As a result of the conflict, the Soviet Union established a foothold in Southeast Asia and China, through its support to the anti-Vietnam Cambodian resistance, improved relations with Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand. Japan's Fukuda Doctrine--its declared priorities of promoting cooperative and friendly relations with and among Southeast Asian countries to increase their stability--became increasingly at odds with its role as a member of the Free World in the broader Cold War confrontation. Tokyo had to steer a path between Washington's hardline policy of isolating Hanoi and its own desire to prevent regional destabilization. Against this background, this book addresses the following questions: how did Japan respond to the challenges to the post-Vietnam War Southeast Asian order that Tokyo had envisioned in the Fukuda Doctrine? What was the impact of the Japanese response on the stabilization and shaping of Southeast Asia and on Japan's role in the region? It argues that Japan's contribution was more active than has widely been recognized"-- Provided by publisher Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents Acknowledgments Introduction: regional conflict, Cold War, and Japan’s Southeast Asia policy 1 Southeast Asia in Japan’s postwar foreign policy, 1950s–1960s 2 US “exit” and Japanese “entry”: post-Vietnam War Southeast Asia and the Fukuda Doctrine, 1969–1977 3 The Cambodian conflict and the polarization of Southeast Asia: Japan’s response, 1978–1980 4 New Cold War and Japan’s pursuit of its regional agenda, 1981–1982 5 The unfolding of Japan’s “twin-track” diplomacy in Southeast Asia, 1983–1984 6 Changing Cold War environment and the intensification of Japan’s peace diplomacy, 1985–1988 7 The Cambodian peace process and the shaping of post-Cold War Southeast Asia: Japan’s role, 1989–1993 Conclusion Index