Japan’s Debut in Multilateral Peace Diplomacy: The 1970 Jakarta Conference on the Cambodian Conflict

Abstract

ABSTRACT It is widely thought that Japan’s involvement in multilateral conflict-resolution diplomacy began at the 1989 Paris international peace conference aimed at ending hostilities in Cambodia. However, in 1970, Japan was engaged in the Jakarta conference, a gathering of Asian and Pacific countries attempting to resolve a Cambodian conflict that erupted in that year and in the follow-up initiatives. This analysis draws on declassified diplomatic documents to show that although those efforts failed, Tokyo gained much from its debut in an international effort to resolve a conflict in Asia: expansion of its regional role, co-operation with Southeast Asian countries, and valuable peacemaking experience. This examination of that history elucidates the features and limitations of Japanese peacemaking diplomacy and examines international reactions to those efforts and the manner in which that experience shaped Japan’s role in Southeast Asia.