Experts call on Spain and Japan to engage more with the global south in the face of block politics

The Diplomat Spanish and Japanese experts on Wednesday highlighted the need for both countries to engage more with the so-called "global south" to promote "greater dialogue" and a change of narrative in the international context of growing tensions and division into blocks. Academics from both countries called for increasing diplomatic bridges with countries in Latin America, Southeast Asia and Africa with a view to maintaining peace and stability, during the 24th edition of the Spain-Japan Forum held in Takamatsu (southwest Japan), Efe reports. The West "is experiencing a loss of credibility" in front of the global south due to how it has acted in the conflicts in Ukraine or the Middle East, according to the director of the Asia Forum, Georgina Higueras, during her speech at this event. «The South is eager for more public diplomacy. The countries of Latin America, Africa and ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) do not want to be dragged into a new Cold War, they do not want to be divided into one block or another,» said this journalist and international relations analyst. Spain and Japan «can help in this dialogue to change the message of the West that reaches the global south, because if not, the one who will win in that region of the world will be China,» warned Higueras. In particular, she pointed to a change of narrative «to balance the interests of the West and the global south» and to involve the latter region more, where «it is suspected that what the Western countries want is only for their own interest.» She also suggested that Spain and Japan «join forces to reverse the militarism that prevails in the West» and restore the role that nuclear deterrence played in the Cold War. Tokyo and Madrid "have a unique opportunity to join forces and amplify the voices of the global south," where countries "want to live in a more inclusive system, promote their security, reform multilateral institutions and not be under the tutelage of great powers," added Higueras. If a diplomacy more focused on cooperation rather than confrontation is not promoted and a new impetus is given to nuclear disarmament initiatives, "we are moving towards the abyss of a thermonuclear conflict, of a third World War," warned the expert. Along the same lines, the professor of the Japanese National Institute of Political Studies Harukata Takenaka, stated that for Spain and Japan it is "crucial" to intensify their relations with the "global south" to respond to the "challenges presented by authoritarian states such as Russia and China." Spain and Japan "have the advantage of being perceived as neutral countries and not suspected of having imperial interests, as is the case of the United States, for example," added the expert. Takenaka called for a deeper dialogue with strategic countries in the global south, "which, although considered democratic, have politicians who move in increasingly grey areas, such as India, the Philippines or Turkey." At the same time, he described as "worrying" that other nations such as Mexico, Brazil or Indonesia "have abstained from voting on United Nations resolutions condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine." For his part, the professor at the Open University of Catalonia (UOC) Lluc Vidal, stressed that Japan has "a long tradition" of acting as a bridge between the global north and south and of "not ignoring" this region of the world, an approach "from which Spain can learn a lot," he said. As an example, he cited the diplomatic strategy of "coverage" used by Tokyo towards China, which consists of "hoping for the best" from the Asian giant and at the same time "preparing for the worst." In this way, Japan "has not yet identified China as an enemy," a country on which the Japanese archipelago has a high commercial dependence, according to the academic specializing in International Relations and East Asia. The twenty-fourth edition of the Spain-Japan Forum, the main public diplomacy event between government, business and cultural representatives of both countries, was held these days in Takamatsu, capital of the Japanese prefecture of Kagawa and located on the island of Shikoku, the smallest of the four main islands of the Japanese archipelago. The event was opened by the Secretary of State for Foreign and Global Affairs of Spain, Diego Martínez Belío; the Parliamentary Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan, Yoichi Fukazawa; and the co-president of the Spain-Japan Forum and CEO of Fujitsu in Spain, Ángeles Delgado, among others. During his speech, Diego Martínez Belío stressed the need for closer collaboration between the two countries in matters of security. “Japan and Spain, separated by thousands of kilometres, feel close in their democratic values, their commitment to human rights and their conception of an international order based on rules,” an order that, he warned, is currently facing “a real test.” The forum, which has been held annually since 1997 and alternates between Japan and Spain, was held this year under the motto “Seeking a vision of global cooperation between Spain and Japan”

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