Northeast Asia Cooperation Dialogue 7

Tokyo, Japan, 3–4 December 1997

Press Release

Yebisu Garden Place, Tokyo, Japan, 3–4 December 1997

University of California Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation (IGCC)
Japan National Institute for Research Advancement (NIRA)
Japan Institute for International Policy Studies (IIPS)

The members of the NEACD are the Republic of Korea, Russia, China, Japan, and the United States. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea attended the preparatory session in July 1993, but has not participated since. The NEACD participants reaffirmed their sincere hope that the DPRK would participate in the Dialogue process in the future.

The first plenary meeting of NEACD was held in San Diego in October 1993, and this Tokyo session was the seventh NEACD meeting. Discussion of national and military perspectives on Northeast Asian security are the centerpiece of the NEACD process. Two participants present each country¹s perspective, one focused on the general security situation in the subregion, the other examining the situation from a military perspective. Following presentations from each country, there was a discussion during which participants asked questions about matters raised in the presentations.

While uncertainties remain, particularly with respect to the future of the Korean peninsula, the general sense of the meeting was satisfaction with the improved political and security climate in the region during the eight months since NEACD 6. Positive developments include the deepening of bilateral contacts among the powers in the region, including summits between the United States and China, Japan and Russia, and Russia and China. NEACD members also commended the initiation of the four-party talks on the future of the Korean peninsula.

At each Dialogue, a non-security issue is the basis of discussion for at least one session, when potential avenues for regional cooperation are examined. Subjects of past discussions have included economic complementarity, the environment, food and agriculture, and energy. In Tokyo, a discussion about a broad range of regional issues related to the environmental impact of energy in Northeast Asia was held.

In addition to the plenary sessions, the NEACD also organizes study projects on issues of common concern and interest to its members. Since the last plenary session, the NEACD conducted study project meetings on Principles of State-to-State Relations and on Defense Information Sharing.

Principles of State-to-State Relations

Principles of Cooperation in Northeast Asia

1. The states of Northeast Asia respect each other's sovereignty, territorial integrity, and equality; accept that other countries have different political, economic, social, and cultural systems and the right to determine their own laws and regulations as well as other domestic affairs. They also recognize that they are obliged to abide by and implement international agreements to which they are a party.
2. The states of Northeast Asia will refrain from the threat or use of force against each other; will settle disputes through peaceful means; and pledge to use consultation, negotiation, and other peaceful means to prevent conflict between and among each other.
3. The states of Northeast Asia express their commitment to the protection and promotion of human rights in accordance with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter.
4. To prevent misunderstanding and develop trust, the states of Northeast Asia will promote dialogue, information exchange, and transparency on security issues of common concern.
5. The states of Northeast Asia respect the principle of freedom of navigation based on international law.
6. The states of Northeast Asia will promote economic cooperation and the development of trade and investment in the region.
7. The states of Northeast Asia will cooperate on transnational issues of common concern, such as organized crime, drug trafficking, terrorism, and illegal immigration.
8. The states of Northeast Asia will cooperate in the provision of humanitarian assistance, such as food aid and disaster relief.

Defense Information Sharing Study Project

The value of the Honolulu meetings was recognized by the NEACD plenary, which decided to continue this military-to-military dialogue. The purpose of the next meeting of the study project will be to discuss information currently found in information-sharing documents and white papers, and to encourage further information sharing as countries deem appropriate. This will provide the first multilateral forum for a discussion of this type.

Future Plans

Agenda

Tuesday, 2 December

Wednesday, 3 December

National and Military Perspectives on Northeast Asian Security

Thursday, 4 December

9:00

Friday, 5 December

Participant List

Japan

People's Republic of China

Republic of Korea

Russia

United States

Presenters

Observers

Sponsoring Organizations

Principles of Cooperation in Northeast Asia
Study Project

Pacific Forum/CSIS
Honolulu, Hawaii, 1–2 October 1997

Itself an integral MRM, the study project on Principles of Cooperation in Northeast Asia comprised selected academics from NEACD countries who met to assess the NEACD's three-year efforts at agreeing on general principles of state-to-state relations in the region. The discussions proved arduous, particularly with respect to the statement of the sovereignty norm, and the study project itself did not reach a consensus.

In following months, however, subsequent communication among the parties, and improvement of the security and political environment following Chinese President Jiang Zemin's visit to the United States, facilitated a final agreement. The Principles of Cooperation in Northeast Asia is a far-reaching document that can serve as the basis for future multilateral efforts in the region. In addition to statements concerning the respect for national sovereignty and commitment to the peaceful settlement of disputes, the principles include commitment to human rights, increased transparency on security issues of common concern, and respect for the principle of freedom of navigation. See also the Fall 1996 IGCC Newsletter.

Text of Principles

1. The states of Northeast Asia respect each other’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and equality; accept that other countries have different political, economic, social and cultural systems and the right to determine their own laws and regulations as well as other domestic affairs. They also recognize that they are obliged to abide by and implement international agreements to which they are a party.
2. The states of Northeast Asia will refrain from the threat or use of force against each other; will settle disputes through peaceful means; and pledge to use consultation, negotiation, and other peaceful means to prevent conflict between and among each other.
3. The states of Northeast Asia express their commitment to the protection and promotion of human rights in accordance with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter.
4. To prevent misunderstanding and develop trust, the states of Northeast Asia will promote dialogue, information exchange, and transparency on security issues of common concern.
5. The states of Northeast Asia respect the principle of freedom of navigation based on international law.
6. The states of Northeast Asia will promote economic cooperation and the development of trade and investment in the region.
7. The states of Northeast Asia will cooperate on transnational issues of common concern, such as organized crime, drug trafficking, terrorism, and illegal immigration.
8. The states of Northeast Asia will cooperate in the provision of humanitarian assistance, such as food aid and disaster relief.

NEACD Defense Information Sharing
Study Project

Asia-Pacific Center For Security Studies (APCSS)

Entering its fifth year and following the success of similar efforts in 1995, NEACD sought to develop its concrete, confidence-building work through smaller study projects comprising a subset of NEACD participants. Two such groups, Defense Information Sharing and Principles of Cooperation in Northeast Asia, met this fall.

The Defense Information Sharing (DIS) study project was a natural extension of NEACD's two-year examination of a comprehensive set of mutual reassurance measures (MRMs, also known as confidence-building measures). NEACD participants decided that an examination of security- and defense-policy transparency issues would be an appropriate first-step MRM, and that it was important that a group of defense ministry, military, and academic NEACD participants partake in this groundbreaking study—the first multilateral, military-to-military dialogue of its kind in the North Pacific. The discussions proved so valuable that participants recommended the project meet again to continue its dialogue and review currently available defense information-sharing documents published by NEACD countries.

The project began by examining conceptions of contemporary security relations in Northeast Asia. The era of superpower rivalry in the Pacific has ended (even though enduring legacies of the Cold War—a divided China and a divided Korea—still remain), but it is unclear what has emerged to replace this system. Participants discussed the implications of several new elements. First, security has become "comprehensive" in the sense that economic issues are now as dominant as military-security issues. Second, Northeast Asian states now widely accept the concept of using cooperative security to resolve differences. Further, they widely recognize that since the security of one state can no longer supersede that of others, countries must consider stable relations, peacekeeping, and other elements of common security when deciding their own security policies.

The project analyzed the current state of security perceptions and how greater defense information sharing can mitigate growing concern among nations. Northeast Asia, with a long history of war in the twentieth century, currently enjoys a period of relative tranquility. Beneath the surface, however, uncertainties and suspicions (many arising from that tradition of war) are still very relevant. While specific areas of concern, such as reunification processes in Korea and China and disputed claims to South China Seas islands, continue to dominate media headlines, major uncertainties actually arise from questions about the balance of U.S.–Japan–China relations.

Will China develop into a benevolent superpower or one that seeks to dominate relations with its neighbors? Can Japan define its future responsibilities within the regional security system in a way that does not raise suspicions among its neighbors? Can the United States assuage critics who accuse it of bullying its Asian neighbors into accepting the U.S. world view, while addressing the concerns of others about a U.S. withdrawal, especially military, from the region? Defense officials shared perspectives about these critical long-term issues.

The study project concluded with a full-day discussion in which officials scrutinized and discussed each others' perspectives on defense policies in the Asia Pacific. This allowed participants to offer personal perspectives about issues of concern to their neighbors, such as the strengthening of the U.S.–Japan defense alliance, and the announcement of NEACD Defense Information Sharing guidelines for U.S.–Japan defense cooperation. It also provided a forum for officials and academics to underscore the merits of transparency, debate how further efforts at transparency might reduce mistrust in the region, and establish a tradition of communication on a multilateral basis among the defense leaders in the major military powers in Northeast Asia.

Participant List

China

Korea

Japan

Russia

United States