We Are Tomodachi Autumn / Winter 2017

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6Contributed Article: Dr.Surin PitsuwanTen years after the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was established, Japan was already poised to refashion its relationship with the newly independent and increasingly assertive states of Southeast Asia. The original five member states—Thailand, the head of the pact, having never been colonized, along with Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore—were also trying to define their own separate and distinct identities on the global stage. Japan came onto the ASEAN landscape knowing that it had some "burden of history" to manage with and among the ASEAN Member States. By the late 1960s, Japanese investment and factories were moving into the great expanses of this resource-rich region with a growing population, in a strategic location dividing the Indian and the Pacific Oceans. Japanese businesses and industries had a new resolve to turn this unique geographical landscape into a production hub, but they began to face antagonism and a deficit of trust among the people of Southeast Asia. Incidents of opposition to Japanese presence and investment, productive and beneficial as they might be, were occurring in many countries. The 1977 visit of Japanese Prime Minister Takeo Fukuda to the region transformed the perspectives of the relationship on both sides. Foundation was laid, and momentum was created on a more rational, accommodating and sensitive path forward. Japan became more engaged, and more investment flowed in, from trade and mercantile exchange to constructive political and strategic involvement.The Way ForwardASEAN has become a Community of Nations, with connectivity and networking between all major countries and economies. ASEAN people have become increasingly prosperous, with more of them joining middle class status. This newly acquired mode of effective co-existence is leading to more prosperity, more consumption, more investment and more trade. Japan, one of the first Dialogue Partners of ASEAN, has been generous in development assistance and has placed its full confidence in the region with political and strategic support in Cambodia, East Timor, and Myanmar. But ASEAN is also facing many challenges to which Japan is equipped to offer solutions. The ASEAN member states mostly, if not all, lack in capacity in the areas crucial to their own future prosperity, i.e. science, technology and innovation. ASEAN NEEDS ITS OWN HOMEGROWN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATIONJapan will have to treat ASEAN as a landscape of opportunity to forge human progress, develop science, promote research and incubate innovation. This technology deficit could possibly stymie ASEAN and relegate it to the Middle Income Trap (MIT). Whatever impressive level of prosperity it has achieved so far, it A Courteous and Productive Relationshipbetween ASEAN and JapanDr. Surin PitsuwanServed as the Secretary General of ASEAN from January 2008 to December 2012, during which he implemented the ASEAN Charter and prepared the region to enter into the ASEAN Community in 2015. Native of Nakorn Sri Thammarat, Thailand. Holds an MA and Ph.D. in political science and Middle Eastern studies from Harvard University. Currently engaged in the promotion of regional integration in East Asia, along with educational and political reform efforts in Thailand. Serves as Board and Council of many international organizations concerned on human rights and democratization, and is a frequent speaker at various international conferences.