Why Mongol?

The Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, for some reason, visited Mongol on Saturday. He met with the President and the Prime Minister in Ulaanbaatar and made deals on economic cooperation. It is obvious, however, that his visit was not focused on economics but politics. Ok, we all know that he want to promote containment policy against China. BTW, why Mongol?

Abe agreed with the president on providing loan for repairing thermal power plant, encouraging Japanese investment for developing coal and rare earth, and technological assistance for tackling air pollution. “This is a relationship of win-win, because Mongol is a country with great possibility of natural resource,” told Abe in the joint press conference.

From the beginning, Abe has been stressing the importance of “value oriented diplomacy,” which focused on cooperation with countries on the same basis of freedom, democracy, or market liberalism. In other words, it is a containment policy against China. The reason why he chose ASEAN to visit for his first foreign trip was also to surround China with economic cooperative framework. While America and European countries hesitate to use “containment” against China, Japan, with frustration over Senkaku issue, does not so much.

China apparently is not happy with the cooperation between Japan and Mongol. For China, Mongol has been a friendly neighbor in the same communist bloc from the Cold War era. China may accordingly feel uneasy with Japan-Mongol partnership. But actually, China has been increasing the trade with Mongol for decades. Considering the long relationship between China and Mongol, Abe’s seduction to Mongol is nothing more than a small intimidation to China.

Rather, we need to look at the domestic impact of his visit. Abe has done almost nothing in the diplomacy with China after his inauguration. While territorial invasion by Chinese vessels becomes frequent almost on everyday basis, the government of Japan has shown no deterrence against it. Abe must have needed to show some actions, being afraid of criticism on his handling of security policy, in which he appeals building “strong Japan.”

If Mongol is so valuable for economic partnership, private sectors, not Japanese government, might have broadened the relationship with the country. Having friends is not bad. But governmental action of intimidating opposing neighbor with no effective strategy should not be overestimated.