World of opinion
On a new U.S.-Japan alliance:
Japan’s diplomacy is back at the starting line — again.
During his visit to New York to address the U.N. General Assembly, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda met with U.S. President Barack Obama.
They agreed to strengthen the Japan-U.S. alliance. …
Good. Obama has been in office for less than three years, but he already has met four Japanese prime ministers — Taro Aso, Yukio Hatoyama, Naoto Kan and now Noda.
In this age when summits figure prominently in world affairs, such frequent changes of leadership cannot be conducive to the development of strategic diplomacy. …
In his foreign policy debut, Noda confirmed the Japan-U.S. alliance as the basis of Japanese diplomacy. Noda is now required to confirm Japan’s position in the multipolar world of international politics and pursue sincere but tough diplomacy.
For that, he must help create a stable order in East Asia and the Asia-Pacific region based on a strong Japan-U.S. relationship. In particular, he must attempt to mend relations with China, which derailed after a row over the disputed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea last year.
Noda is scheduled to visit China in October, and then he will participate in multilateral diplomacy through the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in the United States and the East Asia Summit in Indonesia, both in November. We hope he will use these occasions to produce a rounded picture of Japanese diplomacy.
The Asahi Shimbun, Tokyo
On Saudi women voting:
Even if the latest promise of granting marginal political rights to Saudi women could be believed, it would be too little, too late. King Abdullah has good intentions regarding their position, but any step forward on rights tends to be matched by two steps back — and not just for women.
The king consulted with clerics before announcing women could vote in the next municipal election — though not the one due this week — and join the royally-appointed Majlis ash-Shura, a consultative body with no real power. The clerics’ consent suggests they see the promise as sufficiently meaningless not to pose any threat to the Wahhabi establishment.
They are right. This promise has been made before — when municipal elections were first held in 2005, women were also told that next time they would be allowed to cast their ballots. Not only did it take six years for “next time” to arrive; women have now been sold that particular horse twice. No one knows how long it will take before the new promise is tested.
In the meantime, the rules that make women the wards of male relatives in even the tiniest legal matter — and the no less offensive ban on driving — remain in place, threading women’s lives through endless humiliations and impracticalities. …
Saudi policy is racked by rivalries within the House of Saud and the inherent uncertainties of gerontocracy. But the rulers seem united in defying the march of history by holding on to their form of government: absolute monarchy balanced only by fundamentalist theocracy.
In particular, they show no sign of permitting any political participation that would permit minority Shia to press their claims. Not only women, but all disenfranchised Saudis will have to bide their time a while longer.
London Evening Standard
On Somalia relief:
As if things weren’t bad enough in Somalia, there are now fears the October rains will bring malaria and other diseases to refugee camps in the Horn of Africa. This only adds a new urgency to help those affected by the worst famine in 60 years.
The main impediment isn’t the West’s lack of generosity. It is the difficulty in accessing those people affected by the famine who cannot make it out to neighboring countries. More than 750,000 are at immediate risk of starvation inside Somalia.
More political will is needed to resolve this issue and overcome the challenges of bringing food aid to both the south of the country, controlled by al-Shabab, the Islamist group that won’t allow in relief agencies, and to the capital of Mogadishu, under the tenuous control of an often-corrupt Transitional Federal Government.
Ken Menkhaus, a professor at Davidson College, N.C. and one of the world’s foremost Somalia experts, is calling for a “diplomatic surge” to force al-Shabab to open routes for aid delivery, and to hold the transitional government accountable.
This is a welcome idea. The international community can mobilize “unrelenting, full-scale diplomatic pressure” on al-Shabab and on the government. Convincing these players to set aside their differences will not be easy. But in a new report, Menkhaus says the Islamic world must take the lead in what he calls a “Save Darfur” moment. …
For its part, the UN, which funds the transitional government, must let the warlords and others who steal food aid know they can be charged with crimes against humanity. There are willing reformers within the government, including Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali.
There is no guarantee that such aggressive diplomacy will work. But it is at least worth trying. Tens of thousands of lives are at stake, and the world must do everything it can to try to save them.
The Globe and Mail, Toronto