Asia’s new powerbroker

Regional allies: Koizumi meeting Indonesia’s Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin (right) and Indonesia’s Military Chief General Agus Subianto (left) at the Defence Ministry office in Jakarta last month. — AFP

THE United States would have you believe it is showing leadership in Asia. Yet the nation displaying real resolve is Japan.

Standing up to China over its rapidly expanding military strength is what the Indo-Pacific wants to hear from Washington. Instead, it was left to Japan’s Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi to do that when he took the stage at Asia’s premier security forum last Sunday. He offered a vision for the Indo-Pacific that was more candid and ambitious than his American counterpart the day before.