JAPAN SUBREGIONAL SECURITY AND DEFENSE LINKAGES WITH ASEANS, SOUTH-KOREA AND CHINA IN THE 1990S

In the post-cold war period, the security situation in the Asia-Pacifi c region and in Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia is undergoing a tran sformation with the emergence for the first time of multilateral secur ity dialogue. One of the most striking features of this transformation is Japan's new role as a sponsor of multilateral security dialogue in the early 1990s. Japanese policymakers are also working to create sec urity and defence linkages with Asian nations at the subregional level . Evidence gathered from diverse sources reveals that the Japanese Def ence Agency and Ministry of Foreign Affairs are experiencing varied su ccess in extending these types of linkages to the ASEAN nations, South Korea and China. Linkages with the ASEAN nations have been slow to em erge but look set to progress further as suspicion lessens of Japan's role in Southeast Asian security, and as Japan's role in peacekeeping expands. Remarkable progress has been made between Japan and South Kor ea in establishing security and defence linkages, and the strategic un certainties of the instability of North Korea and the commitment of th e US to Northeast Asia look likely to push Japan and South Korea towar ds closer co-operation on security matters. By contrast, Japan's repea ted efforts to involve China in a closer dialogue on security have met with limited success, and immediate progress is hampered by the issue s of missile and nuclear testing, Chinese attempts to intimidate Taiwa n with military exercises in late 1995 and early 1996, and, more gener ally, the problem of 'transparency' in security relations. Indeed, the evidence from Japan's attempts to create subregional security and def ence linkages suggests that the most crucial factor in the success of this policy is the existence of a degree of 'transparency' in relation s between Japan and the ASEAN nations, South Korea and China.