Can we look to the 21st century with expectations for regional peace brought about by the end of the Cold War? Or will we return to a dependency on nuclear weapons and military strength?

　As we stand at this crucial crossroads, a group of scholars and journalists of the Asahi Shimbun Asia Network (AAN) studying Northeast Asian security issues has put together a seven-point proposal titled "Toward a Cooperative Security Organization in Northeast Asia in the 21st Century.''

　Movements to find ways to establish multilateral and cooperative dialogue on security are budding in Northeast Asia−a region where no such forum has previously existed because of its economic, historical, cultural and geographical diversity.

　Just as hopes of reconciliation between the Republic of Korea (South Korea) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) have emerged, the AAN security research team presents this proposal on how to set up a cooperative security organization and avoid a return to dependence on nuclear weapons and military strength.

Security organization

　The proposed cooperative security organization is an advanced model of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which began as a forum of communication between the Eastern and Western blocs during the Cold War.

　It is a system of regional security that all countries, including nations that were once hostile to each other, take part in to build confidence and establish rules to prevent and resolve disputes. Any violation of the rules must be corrected in the name of all concerned countries in the region.

　Based on this definition, the AAN security research team made the seven proposals.

Japan in the new century

　Before making the seven-pillar proposal, we considered what kind of country Japan should be in the new century.

　First, Japan should enhance democratic systems, respect for human rights, the spirit of constitutional government, comfortable living, culture and advanced technology to a degree that would make other nations want to follow Japan's example. These enhancements are based on the concept of "soft power'' advocated by Joseph Nye, former U.S. assistant secretary of defense.

　Second, Japan should not rely solely on bilateral relations, but attach importance to multilateral cooperative diplomacy, cultivate better relations with its neighbors centering on Japan-U.S. relations and play a reasonable political role.

　Japan should always remember that many of its neighbors still harbor deep-rooted suspicions, resulting from the nations's history of World War II aggression. Japan's goal should be to advance the transparency of its purely defensive defense policy and stick to nonmilitary roles in the region.

　Specifically, it should make use of the relationships of trust established through its official development assistance and financial support diplomacy to other countries, and apply them to regional security policy.

　Third, in regard to U.N. peacekeeping operations, rather than using force, Japan should contribute by sending trained personnel who have a strong command of local languages, culture, history and practical skills that would enable them to communicate and build confidence with disputing parties and refugees.

　Fourth, Japan should involve itself in cooperative security and promote cooperative security through dialogue, consultations and establishment of an organization by treaty. In other words, Japan should move the process from a mere meeting to an agreement of minds so that regional powers can cooperate to achieve a common goal.

　Furthermore, Japan should respond to the needs and actual situations of the region in a versatile and stratified fashion and strictly refrain from bullying.

　Fifth, Japan should not resort to narrow-minded nationalism, but stick to its position as a nonnuclear power. A nuclear Japan is what regional countries fear the most. Japan must remember that nuclear weapons are not an option open to it−as a country that underwent atomic bombings for the only time in history and because of its strategic location.

Cooperative security

　How to relate the existing Japan-U.S. alliance with the future process and organization of cooperative security was a major focus of debate within the AAN security research team. Views on this issue also differ among regional powers.

　Morton Halperin, director of the policy planning staff of the U.S. State Department, proposed the establishment of a Northeast Asia Cooperative Security Organization (NASCO) in a recently published paper, in which he advocated its coexistence with bilateral alliances. According to his assertion, the bilateral alliances would be viewed as a second line of defense to be activated only if these cooperative security measures failed.

　In contrast, Qian Wenrong, executive deputy director of China's Xinhua Center for World Affairs Studies, said in a paper: "With regard to the relationship between military alliances and multilateral security cooperation, basically speaking, the two approaches are essentially contradictory to each other. I hold that the existing military alliances should be strictly limited with in the bilateral scope.''

　If allies become over-dependent on their alliance for deterrence, the situation might give rise to an anti-alliance. As a result, a structure of alliance versus anti-alliance of undisguised power politics could emerge again as it did during the Cold War era.

　On the other hand, if alliances are broken off before the establishment of a functional cooperative security organization, capable of exercising authority and control over the region, the absence of a regional security system could give rise to confusion.

　Thus, ingenious direction is needed in the transitional period of coexistence.

AAN proposals for Northeast Asian security: