In this week’s lead, first published in Japanese in Japan’s leading public affairs magazine, the Asahi Shimbun’s Globe, I underline the unique opportunity which these developments open up for lifting APEC’s influence, positioning the APEC economies to deliver on the big global issues of sustained recovery, growth and climate change, and taking the first steps towards filling the gap in trans-Pacific political and security dialogues. This last achievement would bed down Kevin Rudd’s Asia Pacific Community idea. Japan will be centre-stage ─ in the spotlight ─ in making the most of this opportunity over the coming year. Over the coming months Hatoyama will no doubt develop the East Asia Community idea further but so far it appears consistent with Rudd’s initiative. The Asia Pacific Community idea is also the subject around which essays in the latest edition of East Asia Forum Quarterly are organised.
In Brief
The APEC Summit in Singapore is now just a month away. Each year APEC brings together the heads of government of 21 Asia Pacific economies to discuss issues of importance to the development, prosperity and security of a region that already constitutes more than half the world economy and is still its most dynamic centre of economic growth. Asia’s rebound from the global financial crisis confirms the region’s growing importance in the world economy. Next year, the APEC Summit will be held in Yokohama in Japan and the year after in the United States. The global financial crisis has seen the installation of the G20 Summit as the premier forum for international dialogue on global affairs and the fourth G20 Summit will be held in Seoul, cheek by jowl with the APEC Summit in Yokohama. The G20 includes the United States, China, Japan, Korea, Indonesia, Australia, Russia, Canada, Mexico (all APEC members) plus India (a potential APEC member after the end of the moratorium on membership next year).