You know I have been the biggest proponents of integration with China. I do not see Chinese integration as a bad thing because the Chinese people and Chinese society, as a whole, is actually progressive-focused, and at the same time I value their pro-trade, pro-research, pro-family, pro-harmony stance on a whole. In fact that has been the case in China's nearly 5000 years of existence as a nation state. I see a union of China and Japan as a good thing, and an eventuality if we consider the trends in forming supranational pacts.
Yes when you mention Vietnamese being pragmatic, we should also understand that we all , Japanese and Vietnamese, must remain also REALISTIC. Both our countries , Japan and Vietnam, cannot escape or ignore China because simply the fact that China is geographically located in our immediate zones. Vietnam more since your country and your people share a land border with China and the Chinese, so there is literally a physical link there. I should also say a cultural one since Vietnam is, by all intents and purposes and i mean no disrepsect when I say this, but the "New China" of Southeast Asia. And you know this to be true. In fact Vietnamese society and Vietnamese people are very similar to Chinese , go to any Vietnamese Town in the United States, go to any Vietnamse market or restaurant, and its almost , practically, similar to the Chinese version. So back to my point: Vietnam-China and Japan-China will inextricably linked together due to our shared geography, shared history, shared culture, shared future.
It therefore serves us no future to ignore this fact, in fact it exerts more energy to contend with each other in terms of a national polity level. Therefore i think the United States is right by encouraging China's eventual integration of TPP. The TPP will serve as a conduit for Sino-American, Sino-Japanese, Sino-Vietnamese etc --- integration on not just an economical aperture, but also on a security, legislative, political, and social platform. The point is --- the PACIFIC-WIDE Union is the goal.
You see, my friend, there are two contending political ideologies in regards to the Pacific Rim right now: One side is arguing for a bipolar pacific where we have the China on one side and the United States-led side competing against one another for influence and power. Then you have another side that sees bipolarism as inhibitive and conflict-prone; and arguing for a Pan-Pacific Union where China, the United States and all other key players involved cooperating on various parameters. We are seeing, my friend, the paradigm of a China-American Led World Order.
So, the point is --- we will work together. We must work together.
@Viet
