China, India and Japan, the three most influential economic and military powers in Asia should forge a trilateral strategic cooperation and resist uniting with a "non-Asian superpower" to contain and encompass another, a Chinese scholar said today.
The three Asian giants, if determined to strengthen trilateral strategic cooperation and coordination, will not only greatly promote their self-development but contribute to the boom of Asia, Feng Zhaokui, a researcher with the Institute of Japanese studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences wrote in an article.
"None of the three countries should hold the idea of uniting with one party to contain another or uniting with a non-Asian superpower to contain and encompass another," Feng wrote in the official China Daily today, triggering an intense debate on the viability of a new Asian axis.
He stressed that it is reasonable that China, Japan, and India attach importance to developing good relations with Washington, but they should not underestimate their trilateral relationship.
"Any party should not subordinate itself to acting as a chessman for a non-Asian superpower to contain others. For example, Tokyo should not target its military alliance with Washington against Beijing," Feng said.
Noting that China and India are both countries with an ancient civilization, Feng said Beijing and New Delhi should, together with Tokyo, mutually strengthen the bond by glorifying oriental civilisation.
The trilateral political ties between China, Japan and India are generally smooth despite the kind of problems and friction that exists in every bilateral relationship.
"But those problems and frictions exactly underline why the three countries should develop a common trilateral co-operative platform to improve bilateral relationships," Feng said.
Recalling that former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru said as early as in 1937 that the problems facing India and China are global problems as well, the Chinese researcher said that Nehru's words are still applicable to current China, Japan and India. "They badly need mutual understanding and trust given that many future problems should be commonly decided by the three countries," Feng said.
To safeguard maritime transportation will become an outstanding part for the trilateral strategic cooperation between the three countries. Further, the three countries should also join hands to deal with such emerging non-traditional threats as terrorism and piracy.
Feng noted that China, Japan and India each have a population of over 100 million, and last year their respective Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was 1.4 trillion US dollars, 4.3 trillion US dollars, and 500 billion US dollars. The Chinese researcher also pointed out that compared to others, the three nations enjoy more obvious geographic advantages in pursuing and strengthening economic exchanges.
"There is an enormous potential for China, Japan and India to carry out economic cooperation. Japan's plentiful financial and technological resources can be a great advantage for the development of China and India," Feng said.