Correspondents' Correspondence Wooing Neighbors

...It had high hopes that Japan under Suzuki would abandon the "1 per cent taboo" and increase its defense budget by as much as 15 per cent...

...Yet he made very real promises of more economic assistance for nations generally distrustful of the Japanese brand of economic imperialism...

...Suzuki even welcomed Vietnam under his friendly umbrella, stating that Japan would resume aid to Hanoi as soon as Vietnamese troops withdraw from Cambodia...

...Wooing Neighbors Tokyo??For some his words recalled the dashed hopes of over a generation ago: a "co-prosperity sphere" in which a "new economic order" would flourish...

...It is a dream unclouded by any hint of military threat looming over the northern horizon.??Donald Kirk...

...to the call of the international community," Suzuki said, and "participate in discussions for bringing back peace to Kampuchea...

...Millions of citizens of asean countries continue to nurse old hatreds of their erstwhile conquerors...

...It may be significant, too, that Suzuki chose to travel through Asia before setting foot in the United States or Europe...

...Perhaps he was suggesting that Southeast Asia is Japan's proper sphere of influence, at least economically...

...troops stationed here...

...This year Japan increased the budget for its Self-Defense Forces by only 7.6 per cent, to approximately $11.6 billion...

...The U.S...

...If Suzuki's overtures sounded opportunistic, there was little doubt of his sincerity when he reassured asean members that his country would abide by its constitutionally enshrined policy of avoiding military involvement in the region...

...So it is not surprising that asean leaders tend to see a heavily rearmed Japan as a genuine menace...

...The Japanese, for their part, privately accuse the United States of "interfering" in their affairs by pressuring them to build up their military establishment??now totaling almost 240,000 men...

...That figure is well within 1 per cent of the country's gross national product, the maximum allowed by the government for defense spending...

...Instead, he predicted that Southeast Asia "will emerge as a driving force of the global economy in the 21st century," and said he hoped that "Japan will, then as now, be a reliable partner...

...Hanoi should "respond now...

...This was considerably less than the full-blown "Suzuki doctrine" the Prime Minister's aides said would emerge from the trip, his first overseas since assuming office in July...

...The Pentagon, though, is hardly pleased...

...Suzuki himself can hardly imagine military exploits upsetting Japan's single-minded economic momentum...

...Indeed, the suspicion lingered that Japan would be delighted if Hanoi managed to find a face-saving device whereby it could maintain full sway over Cambodia, yet appear to be retreating militarily...

...The President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos, remarked that he would not object if Japan expanded militarily as long as it refrained from "aggressive" moves...

...As an Asian country," Suzuki told listeners in Bagkok??the last stop on a tour that also included Manila, Jakarta, Singapore, and Kuala Lumpur-Japan will" first and foremost work for peace and prosperity in Asia...

...Unlike the Americans, Southeast Asians are hardly concerned about Japan's military weakness...

...There is no immediate chance of that happening, since Hanoi has not evinced the slightest intention of pulling out of Cambodia...

...They do not believe the Soviet Union is about to attack, nor are they convinced that Japan can afford the price of military expansion, not to mention the political risks...

...Nonetheless, Suzuki skillfully conveyed Japan's interest in dealings with Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, while placating the asean countries, always fearful of Vietnamese expansion...

...military believes that Japan is extremely vulnerable to Soviet attack, and that we could not provide enough forces fast enough to stave off the Russians, in spite of the nearly 40,000 U.S...

...His statement conjured up memories of the days when Japanese troops swarmed over the Philippines, down the Malay Peninsula and across Indochina into Thailand...

...Japanese Prime Minister Zenko Suzuki avoided any phrases that might resemble too closely those slogans of yore, but his message was certainly clear: The best hope for the member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (asean) is an aggressive program of trade, investment and aid in close cooperation with Japan...

...But that prospect is too far-fetched to entertain seriously as this stage...