|
|
|
|
|
An
Axis of Asian Democracies Some of America’s
European allies reacted derisively to U.S. President George W. Bush’s
targeting of North Korea, Iraq and Iran as an “axis of evil”
in his State of the Union Address in January. But while America’s
friends in Europe stew, some friends of America elsewhere in the world
are focusing on an important but overlooked corollary to Mr. Bush’s
drive to confront the world’s most dangerous dictatorships -- the
need for democratic countries to work together for their freedom and,
in some cases, survival. Israel and Taiwan
would seem to be natural allies. Both have suffered as international pariahs.
Both have been denied international recognition, legitimacy and many aspects
of sovereignty. Both are democracies under perpetual threat of conquest
or annihilation. For many years, however,
Israel has preferred to put more emphasis on relations with China. Like
the U.S., Israel hungers for the elusive China market and some of its
telecommunications, agriculture and other businesses are actively seeking
opportunities in China. Whether this merits so much attention is another
matter -- Israel currently exports roughly the same value of goods to
China’s 1.2 billion people as it does to the 22 million in Taiwan.
Moreover, Israeli citizens can legitimately question just who benefits
from this trade with China, particularly in regions such as Xinjiang,
where Israeli drip agriculture techniques help the dictatorship in its
drive to develop the area and settle it with Han Chinese at the expense
of the indigenous Muslim Uighurs. With American approval, Israel also sold arms and military equipment to Beijing during the Cold War. As a result, many older Israeli leaders are deeply committed to Israel’s China ties. They were, not unreasonably, offended by the U.S.’s abrupt withdrawal of support for Israel’s efforts to sell China the Phalcon early warning and control system. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon personally tried to overcome U.S. objections last year. But he failed to do so and the deal is dead, provoking angry protests from China. Nonetheless the cancellation
is very much in Israel’s best interests, as the Phalcon system would
have greatly assisted China in any battle for air supremacy over the Taiwan
Strait, a battle likely to involve U.S. forces. Had it gone forward, the
sale, which had already provoked considerable anger in the U.S. Congress,
would have significantly damaged support for Israel among the American
public. Now there are signs
of a more fundamental shift in approach. In early March, delegations from
Israel and Taiwan met at a conference at Bar-Ilan University in Tel Aviv
to discuss their relations with the U.S. and the dangerous neighborhoods
in which they live. A former Israeli intelligence official told the conference
that the Phalcon debacle was “a watershed with deep and enduring
lessons” for Israel’s strategic planners and defense industries.
Taiwanese officials seeking closer ties with Israel “are kicking
an open door,” he said, as Israel knows that “a community of
democratic nations is a much more comfortable place to be.” That lesson does not
just apply to Taiwan. There are also signs Israel is seeking a new relationship
with India, a country with which it has had a difficult past dating back
several decades. There have been reports that Israel may now sell the
Phalcon system to India instead. And these days the two countries are
united by more than simply “a fear of terrorism or a struggle against
radical Islam,” according to Yossi Klein Halevi, Israel correspondent
for the New Republic magazine. There is, he suggests, a “mutual
attraction of two Asian democracies, born around the same time in traumatic
partition attempts, rooted in religious culture but devoted to secularism.
Israel and India . . . increasingly view one another not simply as sharing
a common enemy, but a common purpose.” Adding to this pattern
of shifting alliances are reports that India is developing closer ties
with Taiwan -- with which it shares a common, hostile neighbor in the
form of China -- and that the two countries have begun sharing intelligence
and exchanging military delegations. This could be beginning
of some beautiful friendships. The U.S., which has in the past maintained
a web of bilateral ties in the region, is pursuing a new model. During
his trip to Asia last year, Mr. Bush reiterated his previous call for
a “fellowship of free Pacific nations . . . as strong and united
as our Atlantic partnership.” But why stop at the Pacific? Since
Israel, like India, is geographically part of Asia, both countries would
be prime candidates for membership of any future Asian democratic community.
Some Central Asian countries might also one day meet the requirements
for membership as the recent establishment of American bases in the region
and attraction of good relations with the U.S. puts Washington in a powerful
position to push them towards democracy. Indeed Uzbekistan’s dictator
Islam Karimov signed an agreement promising democratic reforms during
his recent visit to the U.S., although it remains to be seen whether he
will honor this. The obvious response
to an axis of hostile dictators is an organization of democratic countries
committed to mutual security and survival and prepared to extend the benefits
of membership to those countries that choose to join the democratic camp.
Europeans already belong to such an alliance, which has protected them
for more than 40 years from the greatest menace of the 20th century. It’s
called NATO and it welcomes as new members those countries that, until
relatively recently, were ruled by evil regimes, as part of the former
Soviet bloc. One day the people of Iraq, Iran and North Korea may similarly be able to look back on their days of repression as a receding memory. And in aiding that process, the formation of an alliance of Asian democracies may prove to be one of the most important consequences of Mr. Bush’s targeting of an axis of evil.
|
 |
   
|
