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13 July 2022
Remembering Abe-san's long-lasting geopolitical influence
When US President Joe Biden warmly greeted newly elected Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the Quad summit in Tokyo this year, the influential gathering was a legacy of the late former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe. It was only the second face-to-face meeting of the US-Japan-Australia-India Quad leaders, but this alliance of the maritime democracies had been Abe’s vision since 2006.
USSC CEO, Dr Michael Green, the author of Line of Advantage: Japan’s Grand Strategy in the Era of Abe Shinzo, said no allied leader has exerted more influence on American strategic thinking about China and Asia in the modern era than Abe. He told NPR Abe, “really stepped up to reinforce the international order, the liberal order that America helped build.” Abe’s strategic achievements include:
- Free and open Indo-Pacific – first using the term “Indo-Pacific” in a geopolitical sense and promoting a free and open waterway as a basic, universal right in an age of rising authoritarianism.
- Launching the Quad – coming up with the idea of the arc of democracy, stretching from the United States to Japan and on to Australia and India, in response to China’s increasing assertiveness.
- Saving an innovative Asian trade agreement from collapse – intervening to save the Trans-Pacific Partnership (now the 11-nation Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership) free-trade pact after President Trump abandoned it in 2017.
- Playing peacemaker at the G7 – reinforcing the liberal order at the G7 when the Trump administration was fighting with Europe.
The United States Studies Centre echoes the comments of allies and leaders around the world in expressing gratefulness for his strategic vision and a commitment to continue advancing his efforts ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific.
NEWS WRAP
Major US expansion across the Pacific
Vice President promises stronger US focus | The United States will set up new embassies in Kiribati, Tonga and the Solomon Islands, as well as provide more aid funding in its biggest Pacific push since the Second World War. Vice President Kamala Harris told the Pacific Islands Forum today Island nations “must stand united” promising more US focus in the region. READ MORE HERE
Defence Minister Marles to meet US counterpart | In his first visit to the United States since assuming office, Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles will meet his US defence counterpart, Secretary Lloyd Austin, as well as members of the US Government, Congress, the defence and national security community, and industry partners. READ MORE
Committee claim of witness tampering | The January 6 Committee claims former president Trump tried to contact a panel witness and has reported the incident to the Justice Department. The hearing detailed Trump supporters’ violent responses to a tweet he sent in December 2020 about a “big protest in D.C.” that would be “wild.” READ MORE HERE
Biden’s first trip to the Middle East | President Biden travels to the Middle East for the first time as president this week, starting in Israel and ending in Saudi Arabia. In an opinion piece in the Washington Post he defended his trip to Saudi Arabia after previously vowing to make the country a ‘pariah’ after the murder of US-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi. READ MORE HERE
US and Australia sign new climate tech deal | A new agreement between Australia and the United States will see greater international research collaboration in areas related to renewable energy, electricity grids, hydrogen and plastic waste. US Energy Secretary, Jennifer Granholm, and the Australian Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen announced a “net zero technology acceleration partnership” in Sydney yesterday. READ MORE HERE
The countries of ASEAN lie at the "confluence of the two seas" - the Pacific and Indian Oceans .... What I call the "Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy" derives from our desire to preserve the blessings of open seas ... What must control our sea and air spaces is the rule of law, and the rules-based order, which are in turn backed by solid institutions.
Address by the late former Prime Minister of Japan Mr. Shinzo Abe at the Seventy-Third Session of the United Nations General Assembly | 25 Sep, 2018
ANALYSIS
Shinzo Abe: ‘Trump whisperer’ a statesman and global visionary
Dr Michael Green
CEO United States Studies Centre
As the world responds in shock and sadness to the assassination of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, the public is also learning what a consequential statesman and loyal friend he was. I first came to know Abe more than two decades ago when I was on the National Security Council staff of President George W. Bush and Abe was a lieutenant to then PM Junichiro Koizumi.
Historians will note that Abe often saved America from itself. When the Obama administration was debating how to respond to China’s militarisation of the South China Sea, Abe patiently warned of larger hegemonic designs by Beijing. When the Trump administration withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, Abe worked with Australia to preserve the trade pact and save a seat for the US. When Trump fought with European leaders, Abe used the G7 summits to rebuild trans-Atlantic comity.
He was the ultimate Trump whisperer: the only democratically elected world leader who could convince the president to do the right thing … or at least put off doing the wrong thing (like withdrawing US troops from South Korea). Abe believed in the world order America built and recognised the need for others to step up and maintain it when challengers arose or America faltered. But he also fundamentally believed in America.
It is not surprising to me world leaders from Narendra Modi to Tony Abbott are genuinely mourning the loss of a close friend and noting the transformational impact he had on Japan’s relations with the world.
This article was first published in The Australian
BY THE NUMBERS
New mutating virus spreading fast
The Monkeypox virus may be mutating more than expected according to researchers as cases rise in Europe and the United States.
As of 11 July 2022, Spain was the world's hardest-hit country with 2,034 cases followed by Germany with 1,556, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The United States had 865 cases while Australia recorded 23 cases.
Monkeypox is a much less serious threat than COVID-19 because the virus doesn’t transmit between humans very efficiently with only low chances of hospitalisation, according to medical experts.
VIDEO
A Documentary History of the United States with Alexander Heffner
In an age dominated by terms like fake news and disinformation, what are the facts about the history of the United States?
In the updated edition of A Documentary History of the United States, co-author Alexander Heffner revisits primary sources to tell the unvarnished history of the United States – compiling the key documents, speeches, letters, tweets and Supreme Court decisions from the Declaration of Independence to Articles of Impeachment against former president Donald Trump following the January 6 insurrection.
In a recent USSC webinar, Heffner joined the Centre's Director of Engagement and Impact Mari Koeck to discuss these issues.
Catch more analysis on the United States on the USSC YouTube channel.
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University of Sydney NSW 2006
