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星期一, 二月 25, 2008
小仓和夫：中国为何应该支持日本入常
Why China should back Japan ’s UN bid.
By Kazuo OgouraFor The Straits Times
CHINA has been stubbornly opposed to Japan ’s bid for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council. The official reason given for this is that Japan has not shown sufficient willingness to reflect on its history and past mistakes; such a country is not qualified to be a permanent UNSC member, say the Chinese.
It is widely assumed that China ’s sense of rivalry with Japan and its wariness about an increase in Japan ’s political influence are also among the reasons for the Chinese stance, although these are not explicitly mentioned in official statements.
A dispassionate examination of the issue shows that there are a number of reasons why China should support Japan becoming a permanent member of the Security Council.
One such reason is diplomatic. If China wishes to take a leadership role in Asia , it needs good political relations with Japan . At present China ’s political system differs from those of the many democratic countries in the region, and, although it is a major power, it is not in a position to provide substantial economic and technical assistance to poor countries. In these circumstances it is particularly inadvisable － including from the standpoint of expanding its own leadership capability － for China to compete with Japan for leadership. China must give careful consideration to this point.
When pondering its international influence, China should not forget that Japan, like China, uses Chinese characters in its writing system and that in this sense the two countries are cultural brothers. South Korea, South-east Asian nations such as Vietnam, and Mongolia were also influenced in numerous ways by Chinese culture in centuries past, yet these countries are now completely detached from what might be termed the “Chinese-character-using cultural sphere”. Only Japan may be said to belong to the same cultural“species”as China. In view of this connection between the two countries, championing Japan ’s position within the international community would surely benefit China by propagating, albeit indirectly, its cultural influence in the world.
A second major reason for China to support Japan ’s permanent UNSC membership relates to the danger of China becoming isolated in the international community. China ’s economic growth has attracted the attention of many countries, but at the same time there is a very strong wariness of China in the international community. In the Western world, in particular, there are those who see China as rival civilization, and not a few people regard it with hostility from the standpoint of democracy and human rights.
In order to get along in the international community under these circumstances, China needs a partner that understands it. China should bear in mind that Japan can play a role in mitigating its isolation, particularly in such forums as the UN Security Council.
The third reason relates to security. If China ’s military capability becomes excessively large, not only the United States but also many Asian countries will grow even more wary than they are now, and such a situation risks prompting Japan to take steps to expand its own military capability.
To restrain militaristic elements in Japan and ensure that the combination of Japan ’s military and economic strength does not exert an influence unfavorable to Chinese interests, it is important for China that Japan should be securely positioned within international frameworks. To entrench Japan ’s pacifism and safeguard China ’s own security, it is extremely important that Japan should hold a position of influence and honour in the United Nations.
The fourth reason is connected with China ’s internal political situation. China is already facing the challenge of combining tradition and modernity. As Chinese society becomes increasingly information-based and democratic, the question of how the country can modernize itself while making the most of the traditions of Chinese civilisation will be of paramount importance. Japan has had considerable success in reconciling the traditional and the modern (although not without a great deal of heartache along the way), and in this respect Japan can provide a powerful model for the future development of Chinese society.
I believe that China should give serious thought to using Japan as a model for its own development. This requires friendly Japan-China relations, and it is also important for the two countries to learn from each other and cooperate in reconciling tradition and modernity.
From this standpoint, projecting an image to the world of Japan and China cooperating at the United Nations and other multilateral forums could play a significant role in maintaining China ’s internal political stability.
The final reason relates to China ’s economy. Maintaining friendly relations with Japan is, of course, important in the sense that it facilitates Japanese investment and promotes trade relations with Japan , both of which contribute to the development of the Chinese economy. But it is also important on a level that transcends trade and investment promotion.
As the Chinese economy grows in size and power, increased economic friction between the international community and China is inevitable. Japan is the only country that will be able to understand the frictions and differences that are sure to appear in such areas as voluntary export controls, agricultural issues and intellectual property rights, because Japan has experienced these very problems.
China should not forget that it was Japan that made the greatest efforts in supporting China ’s accession to the World Trade Organization. When economic friction does occur, Japan is in a position to play an important intermediary role in getting other countries to understand China ’s thinking, and in getting China to understand the wishes of the international community.
The UN Security Council is by its nature a body that should act in a manner consistent with the idea of economic security in its board sense. Given that permanent members of the Security Council hold important positions not only in the council but also in other UN agencies, Chinese support for Japan’s permanent membership is important both for the stable development of China’s economy and for the forging of harmonious relations between the Chinese economy and the international economic community.
I have listed a number of reasons, from a range of perspectives, why China should support Japan ’s permanent membership of the UN Security Council. These reasons essentially boil down to this; To increase its influence in the international community and achieve political stability and sustained economic development at home, China needs to forge an active and friendly partnership with Japan .
In the long term, moreover, it is vital that China ’s partnership with Japan is not merely bilateral but also extends to the international community, in forums like the United Nations, for example. Viewing Japan as a partner, rather than a rival, will lead to an enhancement of China ’s international status.
Japan used to be a permanent member of the Council of the League of Nations , but it lost its status as a major power in the international community because it failed to establish a partnership of equals with China . I hope that China will not repeat Japan ’s mistake in the 21st century.
Kazuo Ogoura, a retired Japanese diplomat, is president of the Japan Foundation.
转载自：http://www.bn.emb-japan.go.jp/policy/japan's%20UN%20bid.htm
译文：
中国应支持日本入常的五大理由
作者：小仓和夫 来源：英国《金融时报》 发表日期: 2006-5-30东亚经济评论 http://www.e-economic.com 文章页数：[1]
中国迄今一直坚决反对日本获得联合国安理会(UN Security Council)常任理事国席位。然而，冷静地审视一下这个问题就会发现，有许多理由表明，为了自身的利益，中国应该支持日本成为常任理事国。
一个理由是外交方面的。如果中国希望成为亚洲的领袖，就有必要与日本保持良好的政治关系。目前，中国的政治制度与亚洲的许多民主国家不同，而且，尽管作为一个大国，中国却并不能够向穷国提供坚实的经济和技术援助。在这种情况下，中国与日本竞争领导地位是极为失策的。
中国应支持日本“入常”的第二大原因在于，中国面临被国际社会孤立的危险。中国的高经济增长率吸引了许多国家的关注，但与此同时，人们也对中国保持着高度警惕。特别是在西方世界，有人视中国为竞争对手，许多人出于民主和人权的立场而对中国怀有敌意，甚至有人将中国视为潜在的敌人。要在这种情况下与国际社会融洽相处，中国需要一个理解它的伙伴。中国应该记住，日本能够起到缓和中国孤立局面的作用，特别是在联合国安理会等场合。
第三个理由关乎安全。如果中国的军事实力过于强大，不仅美国，许多亚洲国家也会变得更加警惕。这种情形可能会促使日本采取措施增强自己的军事实力。为了抑制日本的军国主义势力，确保日本军事和经济力量的结合不会给中国的利益带来不利影响，把日本安全地放在国际框架内，对中国而言是很重要的。如果中国真的担心日本军国主义复苏，那么，让日本在联合国发挥影响，受到尊重，就极为重要。
第四个理由与中国国内政治形势有关。不言而喻，随着中国社会日益信息化和民主化，在尽量保持中华文明传统的同时如何进行现代化建设，将成为中国维护政治稳定时面临的一个极为重要的问题。我认为，中国在发展过程中可以以日本为典范，协调传统与现代的关系。就这点而言，在联合国和其他多边论坛上树立一个中日合作的形象，可能会对保持中国的稳定起到重要作用。
最后一个理由涉及中国的经济。随着中国经济的规模和实力不断扩大，国际社会与中国之间摩擦的增多是不可避免的。日本是唯一一个能够理解在自动出口限制、农业和知识产权等领域肯定会出现摩擦的国家，因为日本也经历过这些事。中国不应忘记，在加入世界贸易组织(WTO)的问题上，正是日本给与了中国最大的支持。当经济摩擦真正出现时，日本可以发挥居中调停的作用，让其它国家理解中国的想法，也让中国理解国际社会的期待。
从本质上说，安理会的行为方式应该与广义的经济安全理念保持一致。鉴于常任理事国在其他各种联合国机构中担任着重要职务，中国支持日本入常，对于中国经济的稳定发展，建立中国经济与国际经济社会的和谐关系，都很重要。
如果中国希望成为大国，她必须首先与邻国日本建立伙伴关系。日本曾是国际联盟(League of Nations)理事会的常任理事国，但却因为未能与中国建立平等的伙伴关系，而丧失了在国际社会中的大国地位。我希望中国不要重蹈日本的覆辙。
作者现任日本国际交流基金会(Japan Foundation)理事长，曾任日本外务省副大臣。
( 作者：小仓和夫(KAZUO OGOURA) 2006年5月30日 星期二 译者/徐柳 梁艳梅)
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