“Time for Japan to reinforce its regional leadership role” – CALD Chair

“These may be very challenging times, but this can also be an opportunity for Japan to solidity and reinforce its regional leadership role, especially since it has been punching below its weight for the longest time.”

These were the words of Mardi Seng, chairperson of the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD) and Cambodian senator, to the members of the Japanese Diet during a dialogue on “Challenges and Opportunities: The Role of Legislators for Promoting Universal Values in the Indo-Pacific Region – Expectations towards Japan.”

The dialogue was part of a joint visit organized by the Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE) and United States-Japan Foundation for officials of CALD and the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR). The visit hoped to achieve the following objectives: (1) to exchange views with Japanese parliamentarians on the role of legislators for promoting universal values in the Indo-Pacific region; and (2) to endorse the launch of the Parliamentary Caucus for Promoting Universal Values in the Indo-Pacific Region for Japan to step up in the effort to defend democratic values.

“The leadership vacuum in the global fight for democracy can be exploited by authoritarian forces to advance their own goals and objectives, said Seng. “While Japan may have been saddled with issues in domestic politics, we still believe that Japan is in the best position to assume a regional leadership role in the fight for democracy and open markets as it remains to be one of the most trusted allies by countries in Southeast Asia.”

Seng, in particular, requested his Japanese counterparts to advance the following priorities in the political, security and economic realms:

• Politically, for Japan to use Official Development Assistance’s (ODA) offer-based approach to ensure free and fair elections in Southeast Asia;
• In terms of security, for Japan to continue and strengthen its commitment to a Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP); and
• Economically, for Japan to retain its commitment to global open markets and multilateralism despite the certainty of trade wars and preference for bilateral arrangements.

Apart from the launch of the Parliamentary Caucus for Promoting Universal Values in the Asia-Pacific Region, the CALD-APHR delegation also met with the members of Milk Tea Alliance Japan, the Parliamentary Association for Supporting Democratization in Myanmar, and various Japanese NGOs working on the issue of human rights.

At the conclusion of the visit, Seng reiterated his call for Japan to take a more proactive role in the region: “With the US receding in the background and China still widely distrusted, Japan is in the best position to ensure that democracy and the universal values it espouses remains to be the future of Asia.”