« Pew Centre Report | Main | Poland and missile defense - interview with a former ambassador »

November 21, 2005

Bush in Asia: will his visit help him at home?

With his visit in Asia, will George W. Bush succeed in counterbalancing the difficulties he has at home? Various European media are not convinced.

Of course, the US president can argue that relations with Japan are strong. Indeed, in Kyoto he didn’t forget citing it as a model for Asian countries.
“Japan remains the first economic and military power in Asia, the essential anchor for the USA,”in Le Figaro.
However, this honeymoon is fragile. It could suffer from the “probable departure next year of Mr Koizumi, who has done more than anyone to shore up the US relationship through his diehard support of Mr. Bush's agenda, particularly in Iraq,” explains the Financial Times.
It masks also the underlying strains that “stem from unresolved questions about how the alliance should engage with China,” adds the FT.
It tarnishes Japan’s relations with other countries in the region, which have a less conciliatory position. Indeed, in South Korea, Bush is received “as an ally, not a friend. Behind smiles, heavy will be the resentments” Le Figaro. Meanwhile, China will be angry with Bush’s calls in favor of democratic rules. If “Beijing is accustomed to visiting US leaders pressing it to allow greater freedoms,” reminds the FT, “China's leaders will be irritated to have Japan and, in particular, Taiwan held up as examples of successful regional democracies.”
The success in commercial issues during the APEC summit is no longer a sure thing, according to Le Monde, which explains that neither South Korea, nor Japan will be easy to convince to open up their agricultural markets.

Posted November 21, 2005 12:05 PM

Comments

Post a comment