Trilateral Commission Asia Meeting Participants Express Frustration with U.S.’s China Policy

Nov. 27, 2022 (EIRNS)—A Tokyo meeting of the Trilateral Commission—a U.S.-Europe-Japan institute celebrating its 50th anniversary next year—allowed, for the first time, the presence of members of the press during the entirety of the day’s proceedings.

Nikkei Asia reporters covering the Nov. 19-20 Asia Pacific Group meeting assessed that “the press has been invited to highlight a rift that may be emerging between Asia and the other wings of the organization.”

“We feel that the U.S. policy toward Asia, especially toward China, has been narrow-minded and unyielding. We want the people of the U.S. to recognize the various Asian perspectives,” said a Japanese leader of the organization.

“Without proper steering, the U.S.-China rivalry may lead the world into a dangerous confrontation,” the reporters write. For example, they point to the speech by Rahm Emanuel, the U.S. Ambassador to Japan. Emanuel claimed that a major issue confronting the world is “Democracy vs. autocracy: You are going to see 2022 as an inflection point in the success of democracy,” he said, suggesting that China, which he views as autocratic, is going against the tide of history. “At a certain point you either play the fool or get smart,” said the former Obama White House Chief of Staff.

“What is the ambassador saying?” said a former Japanese official. “We must engage China. If we force countries to choose sides, the Southeast Asian nations will choose China. The key is not to force them to choose.”

The absence of Chinese participation in the event (whose organizers claim that the nine Chinese members of the Commission were invited) was noted. A Japanese official said “I feel very much embarrassed and disappointed to see the complete void of Chinese participation in this meeting.” A Philippines member said there is no point in discussing Asia without China’s presence. This member worried about the division of the world into competing blocs: “When two elephants fight, the ants get trampled. And we’re feeling it. When two elephants fight to the death, we will all be dead. And the question is: ‘What for?’ ”

A South Korean economist said that his country would be forced to choose between the U.S. and China in the technology world: “You have to choose which tech ecosystem you want to belong to.”