Remarks by Prime Minister ABE Sinzo

The 1st Tokyo Global Dialogue summary
December 2-3, 2019
Jonathan Berkshire Miller
Senior Fellow and Special Rapporteur
On December 2-3, the Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA) hosted aninternational symposium to discuss the current challenges and future prospects for theinternational order. The inaugural Tokyo Global Dialogue (TGD), was attended by a range ofprestigious experts, scholars and former officials all looking at the question: “Is it possible tobuild an international order based on free, fair and transparent rules?”Foreign Policy Speech by Foreign Minister MOTEGI Toshimitsu

Indeed, the rules-based liberal international order now faces serious challenges on anumber of fronts: the rise of protectionism and widespread authoritarianism, growing
skepticism about liberal values and the malfunctioning of international institutions. As outlined
by several panelists at the conference, these concerns are symptoms rather than a cause of thecurrent stress on the international system. In the developed economies, there has been awidening gap of income disparity and consequential disenfranchisement from citizens who are
not benefitting from the financial successes of globalization. This has partially led to the growthof populist rhetoric and new political voices aimed at securing this “lost” part of the electorate
in a range of countries in the West and beyond.

Keynote Speakers

These economic tensions and dissatisfaction with the inequities of current institutions
has been inflamed by simultaneous challenges in the geopolitical landscape, with growing
strategic rivalries and the marginalization of international law as a means of solving disputes.
Helping to magnify these divisions even more is the rapid growth of digital tools and theintentional misuse of these capabilities – such as social media or cyber tools being used for
misinformation campaigns, influence and interference operations.
Advances in digital technologies have radically improved convenience across all aspectsof society, from state administration and industry to individual lifestyles, and they have alreadyreached an irreversible level. At the same time, however, negative phenomenon such as
cyberattacks against various targets, fake news, interference in the elections of other countries,and national surveillance and data hoarding by authoritarian states have been adversely
affecting the international order. During the Dialogue, participants insisted that the only way
forward was for the international community to construct common rules compatible withadvances in digital technologies.
Moreover, the international rules-based order is also adapting to a rapidly evolving
security environment with a host of territorial disputes, growing strategic rivalries andmanaging the development of cutting-edge military technologies. The Indo-Pacific, in particular,
is facing a host of shared security challenges, from maritime piracy and crime to heatedterritorial disputes. In this vast maritime space – stretching from East Africa to the Pacific Island
chains – the foundations of regional commerce and security are secured through the freedomof navigation and secure sea lines of communication.

Plenary Session 1: Challenges to democratic political systems and the liberal international orderChief among these concerns in the Indo-Pacific region is the growth of US-China strategic
rivalry and its regional implications. Delegates at TGD had a range of views on the matter, and –while most agreed that the growth in strategic competition between Washington and Beijing
was a long term trend with no easy resolution – there was no consensus on whether thissituation would lead to a second Cold War scenario or whether it would be managed
competition.
The TGD examined these issues throughout the symposium and also examined regionspecific challenges, with breakout sessions on the US, China, Russia, the Middle East, theKorean peninsula and Europe. In addition, panelists explored areas threatening the rules-basedorder that transcend regional borders and touch on core tenants upholding that order. Suchdiscussions included a discussion of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific, the non-proliferation regime,
territorial disputes and the rule of law.