By Chen Yang

陈洋

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed held talks on January 13, local time, reported Japan’s Jiji Press. The two sides agreed to work together to maintain stability and security of navigation in the Middle East, and had the intention of expanding their cooperation beyond the energy sector. Next Shinzo Abe will visit the UAE and Oman in the hope of mitigating the regional tension through dialogue.

根据日本时事通讯社报道，地时间1月13日，日本首相安倍晋三与沙特王储穆罕默德举行会谈，双方就携手合作维护中东稳定和航行安全达成共识，并有意扩大在能源领域以外的合作。接下来，安倍还将访问阿拉伯联合酋长国和阿曼，寻求通过对话方式缓和中东紧张局势。

As an important energy supplier, a peaceful and stable Middle East is of great importance for the world, especially for Japan that has a small territory and limited resources. According to the Energy White Paper 2019 published by the Japanese government, 87.3% of its petroleum import comes from the Middle East. Although Japan has tried to diversify its energy import in recent years, it will continue to rely on Middle East’s energy supply in the short term, and the region will remain its main source of petroleum import. Any tiny change in the Middle East will have butterfly effects on Japan that is thousands of miles away. Therefore, Shinzo Abe decided to pay a visit to the Middle East despite the long distance and assigned its Maritime Self Defense Forces (JMSDF) to safeguard the security of navigation in sea areas of the region, so as to guarantee stable petroleum supply for Japan. Of course Abe also had a mind to enhance Japan’s influence and shape its major-country image in the region.

作为重要的能源供应地，中东的和平稳定对世界有着重要意义，特别是对国土狭小、资源有限的日本至关重要。根据日本政府发布的《能源白皮书2019》显示，日本从中东进口的石油占总量的87.3%。近年来，日本着力于促进能源进口多元化，但短期内仍然无法摆脱对中东能源的依赖，中东仍是日本主要的石油进口来源地。中东地区局势的任何细微变化，都会对千里之外的日本产生蝴蝶效应。正因如此，安倍不远千里访问中东，派遣海上自卫队维护中东海域航行安全，主要就是为了确保日本能从中东获得稳定的石油供应。当然，也是为了提升日本在中东地区的影响力和塑造大国形象。

Nevertheless, the tension in the Middle East, known as a powder keg in the international community, involves not only the US-Iran conflict and complex regional conflicts, but also more deep-rooted issues such as bullying, military interference and confrontation between different religious factions. They cannot be resolved by Japan, a country out of the region, on its own.

然而，素有“火药桶”之称的中东地区紧张局势，不仅有美伊矛盾、复杂的地区矛盾，还有霸凌主义、军事干预以及宗教对抗等更为深层次的问题，并不是作为域外国家的日本能独自解决的。

Tokyo has been trying to play the "coordinator" amid the US-Iran strain, but its diplomatic efforts are anything but successful so far. Japan has a diplomatic relation with Iran for more than 90 years and has been America’s ally for more than half a century, which does make it well-positioned to mediate between the two countries. However, Japan didn’t criticize the US when it killed Iran’s Major General Qassem Soleimani, commander of IRGC's al-Quds Forces, or censure Iran after it revenged the US by shooting missiles at its military bases. The silence indicated its awkward position between the two conflicting countries.

在美伊关系紧张的背景下，日本一直努力扮演“协调者”角色，但从目前来看，日本的协调外交说不上成功。日本与伊朗拥有长达九十多年的建交史，并与美国有着半个多世纪的同盟关系，按理说的确有在美伊之间斡旋的资本，但当美军炸死伊朗“圣城旅”领导人苏莱曼尼、伊朗以导弹对美军进行报复的时候，日本既没有批评美方，也没有谴责伊朗，这反映出日本在美伊之间的尴尬境地。

Given the sizzling situation in the Middle East, there is very little that Japan can do despite Abe’s ambition to achieve some kind of diplomatic reconciliation, and it’s unlikely that he will be able to convince the concerned parties to change their stances. In fact, the key to resolving the Middle East crisis is respecting the principles and purposes of the UN Charter, adhering to a political resolution based on facts, practicing multilateralism and fostering a common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable regional security architecture. In comparison, it’s easy to imagine how difficult it would be to get Washington to change its maximal pressure policy on Iran and give up its unilateral stance. 

在当前中东危局的背景下，安倍前往中东固有外交斡旋之心，但日本所能发挥的作用非常有限，恐怕难以成功说服相关国家改变立场。实际上，破解中东危局的关键是尊重《联合国宪章》宗旨和原则，尊重事情本身的是非曲直，坚决政治解决，践行多边主义，打造共同、综合、合作、可持续的地区安全构架。而要美国政府改变对伊朗的极限施压政策，放弃单边主义的立场，其难度之大可想而知。

Disclaimer: This article is originally published on haiwainet.cn, which is the website of Overseas Edition of the People's Daily. The article is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information, ideas or opinions appearing in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.

声明:本文最初发表于人民日报海外版,由英文中国军网翻译编译发布。文中出现的信息、看法和观点不代表中英文中国军网立场。