These are the two points I wanted to refer to.
｡?PAKKASEM
A new idea has been introduced here. The Asian currency zone, may I say, or in other words, the zone of stability which includes such Asian currency economy. Do you have any comments?
｡?Heita KAWAKATSU
Professor, Faculty of Political Science and Economics, Waseda University
It was very interesting of Dr. Shiraishi to suggest we think in terms of the three time spans 500 years, 150 years and 50 years. He mentioned that each time span has an original lesson to learn from and it was as if Asia had its own independent mechanism of movement. 500 years ago, there was the commercial age. This is what Dr. Reid called the "Age of commerce". Then 150 years ago, came the colonial age, the second age of commerce which is still continuing today. Was it a self-risen movement? Probably it had something to do with Europe. But the truth is, as Dr. Reid has also written, 500 years ago, it was Southeast Asia who was the provider. In other words, Southeast Asia ran the commerce, and distributed the various goods they gathered to Europe and Japan. In a sense, when Southeast Asia made is appearance in the world history 500 years ago during the early commercial age, it was as an extremely affluent region.
But, the position of Southeast Asia was reversed in the second commercial age, 150 years ago. They were forced into the system by Japan, Europe and America, and were taken advantage of. So here too, another power has come into the picture. The reason that this vector was reversed is related to the fact that the direction of the previous vector was from Southeast Asia to Europe and Japan. I believe there is a reason for the reversal.
Now I would like to refer to the monetary problem which has been discussed. I think it would be safe to say that we are now in the process of extricating ourselves from America.
That is, the Asian region is now in its self-forming period.
In Professor Yamazaki's words "Asia is trying to identify itself as Asia". That is one of the factors that is causing Asia to drift away from America. In other words, as the story of Mr. Mahathir was introduced earlier, we do not want to be controlled by the American dollar any longer. So we prefer to use the Singapore dollar. If it happens to be a bilateral trade, we try to settle the accounts between Japan and each country of the Southeast Asian region by using the Japanese yen. We wish to establish an independent economical zone independent of the American dollar. The basis for this is, as Mr. Mohamad has explained, that the number of interrelated trades within the Asian region has increased markedly in the past 10 years. So, on a long-term basis, it is no longer necessary to have a linkage with the American dollar. In this meaning, it is now the age of self-formation. Moreover, as such movement has relation to America and Japan, can't we say that the three said self-risen movements took place in a global environment?
｡?SHIRAISHI
I agree with you. Needless to say that we must examine the problems of a more larger system, the global system, as Asia is a part of it. I do agree with you in this point. But at the same time I think that it is also true that Asia has its own rhythm of history.
As Dr. Kawakatsu has described, this rhythm can be separated into two. The rhythm of the Sea of Asia and the Land of Asia. Each have there own different rhythm and the history of Asia will be revealed to us by looking at the close linkage of the two. We can at least understand what had happened in the past 500 years and what kind of power controlled the Sea of Asia, This does not merely mean that there was a commercial network spread out and the goods were produced and exchanged. It is the process we must focus on. In such economy system, what kind of power carried away the goods, and how was the power transformed to political authority. Without considering this process, I do not think that we can understand, in my words, the modern international system, nor the character of the empire of American nor the empire of Asia.
｡?Makoto IOKIBE
Professor, Faculty of Law, Kobe University
America is trying to revitalize the system which they had built up in Acheson's days. Then, what is Asia going to add in, or what kind of relationship can it establish? What role will it take? I think that the idea of the three waves is a very stimulating answer to these questions. I think that Dr. Shirakawa and also Dr. Kawakatsu share the same historical view that the Chinese network and economical activity of the age of Pax-Americana, 50 years ago still exists. Related to the order of Pax-Americana, the spontaneous economy of East Asia strongly survived. 150 years ago, in the age of Pax-Britannia, the activity of the Chinese and overseas Chinese was preferably accelerated under the international network created by England, producing a long-established tradition and power. Considering the future, Pax-Britannia
