Theo McCook-Towles Politics 333 Block 8 2014 Yamanishi Why has Asia not established a regional organization similar

to NATO in order to promote equality among Asian countries? In the modern era where many people find equality in the West, the East is forgotten. Not only are there many inequalities between Asian countries in terms of money, but also (and very importantly) militarily. Japanese lawmaker Shigeru Ishiba pondered the ending of a self limiting war-ban and said ,It will become necessary for us to have an Asian version of NATO (Kyodo News). Ishiba means to say that if Japan is able to police countries in other parts of Asia or to aid its allies in the event of a war. In any case, Ishiba believes that China will likely keep spending on military. A call for a more NATO-esque alliance would allow for Japan and other small Asian countries to put a slight limit on what China is allowed to do. As of now the Assosiation of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) is unable to limit the powers of China because it has much more economic power and because China is not a member of ASEAN. There are scholars that believe China will need a collar of some sort that is not the United Nations, and that an Asian version of NATO will be a good idea. Others believe that ASEAN will figure out a way to limit what China does, or that ASEAN members will be able to catch up economically. By examining the limitations of ASEAN and looking at how China abuses its power, I hope to find a way in which China could be coerced into being a part of a NATO in Asia. Personally I think that ASEANs lack of power will eventually lead to a NATO-type alliance, where there is a will to contain China, there will be a way. Firstly we should talk about the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Founded in August of 1967 by the countries Indonesia, Malysia, the Phillipines, Singapore, and Thailand. There are currently ten member states that do not include Japan, China, or South Korea. ASEAN deals in mostly economic aspects of governing and usually looks to one of the aforementioned countries for some sort of input. There are different meetings of ASEAN: the +3,which has a lot of Chinese influence, and the +6, which has less Chinese influence (Frost). The great inequality is not actually within ASEAN, but rather the influence that China, Japan, and South Korea have on ASEAN countries. Business that goes on with ASEAN relies on give and take, and China has the most to give (Frost). This means that China has a lot more influence and freedom in the ASEAN military council, the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF). Dr. Ellen L. Frost tells us, The peace-oriented ethos of the ARF may have helped to persuade China to exercise restraint with respect to its extensive territorial claims in the South China Sea. She goes on to tell us that through the ARF China has agreed to let other countries aid in rescue operations at sea. Despite this small step achieved in the ARF, China still does what it wants because it does not adhere to any of the rules set as it is not an actual member. The second organization that I should address is the North Atlantic Treaty Organization or as most people know, NATO. Nato was founded in 1949 after World War II. NATO takes an active role in crisis management and defense planning. NATO keeps its own forces and also keeps a nuclear arsenal at hand. It deals in keeping soldiers trained, information exchange, and keeping member countries safe. There are currently 28 member countries that all contribute troops and time to the organization. All of the member countries can be considered Western even though a lot of NATOs activity is conducted in partner countries who do not have the same deciding power that members have. Currently NATO is conducting missions in the Middle East and East Africa. All of these member countries do share a similar geographic location and tend to agree with each other in order to promote peace outwardly.

In recent history, Asia has had an increase in tensions. Not only are Japan and China watching each other, but other small countries are at each others throats. Burma had a large number of anti-government sentiments in 2007 which ended in military intervention. The Philippines was involved in Operation Enduring Freedom in 2002. Thailand has had an ongoing insurgency in the Southern part of the country for the last ten years. Cambodia and Thailand have also been having some border issues since 2008. Japan claims that it would like to assist its allies in a military fashion (Kyodo News). Japan is close allies with Taiwan, which is technically a Chinese owned country. As Mr. Ishiba stated, he understands that there will need to be a NATO in Asia in order to keep balance if Japan does decide to re-militarize.