Abe and Obama must reassure Asia of their agenda for peace and growth
Simon Tay says Abe and Obama will have plenty to talk about when they meet this month - economic recovery, for a start - and none of it shouldinvolve dealing with China as a foe
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made his first overseas visit to Southeast Asian countries. Very soon, he will make the more usual pilgrimage from Tokyo to Wash- ington, to meet US President Barack Obama.
What should he say to Obama as both begin their new terms in office? What do other Asians hope the two long-standing allies will focus on? The expectation - or fear - is that the conversation will turn to the other Asian giant not in the room: China.
The Obama administration says its pivot to Asia is to engage the most dynamic region in a depressed world. Partly. But it is not only the paranoid in Beijing who believe that competition with China has been a factor.
For Japan, the Abe administration is making its own pivot, to focus on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. This comes as Sino-Japanese tensions over the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands have boiled over in recent months - with street riots, jets being scrambled and incursions at sea.
With such developments, some predict the Obama-Abe conversation will focus on ways to mobilise their long-standing alliance to deal with Beijing. The South China Sea would be a hot topic. Manila - also an American ally - has challenged China, and the Abe administration has now promised to supply it with coastal patrol vessels.
With that and the Senkaku/Diaoyu dispute, there is concern that Abe - long seen as hawkish - will return from America with a deputy sheriff's badge.
Asians should hope otherwise. There is an alternative and pressing agenda.