Challenges and Opportunities in the Brazil-Asia Relationship in the Perspective of Young Diplomats
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Relações coleção coleção Internacionais Challenges and opportunities in the Brazil-Asia relationship in the perspective of young diplomats Ministry of Foreign Affairs Alexandre de Gusmão Foundation The Alexandre de Gusmão Foundation – FUNAG, established in 1971, is a public foundation linked to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs whose goal is to provide civil society with information concerning the international scenario and aspects of the Brazilian diplomatic agenda. The Foundation’s mission is to foster awareness of the domestic public opinion with regard to international relations issues and Brazilian foreign policy. FUNAG is headquartered in Brasília, Federal District, and has two units in its structure: the International Relations Research Institute – IPRI, and the Center for History and Diplomatic Documentation – CHDD, the latter being located in Rio de Janeiro. (Editor) Pedro Henrique Batista Barbosa Challenges and opportunities in the Brazil-Asia relationship in the perspective of young diplomats Brasília – 2019 Copyright ©Alexandre de Gusmão Foundation Ministry of Foreign Affairs Esplanada dos Ministérios, Bloco H, Anexo II, Térreo 70170-900 Brasília-DF Phone numbers: +55 (61) 2030-9117/9128 Website: www.funag.gov.br E-mail: [email protected] Editorial staff: Eliane Miranda Paiva André Luiz Ventura Ferreira Gabriela Del Rio de Rezende Luiz Antônio Gusmão Guilherme Lucas Rodrigues Monteiro Graphic design and cover: Varnei Rodrigues / Propagare Comercial Ltda. Originally published as “Os desafios e oportunidades na relação Brasil-Ásia na perspectiva de jovens diplomatas”, FUNAG, 2017. The opinions expressed in this work are solely the authors’ personal views and do not necessarily state or reflect those of the Brazilian government’s foreign policy. Dados Internacionais de Catalogação na Publicação (CIP) C437 Challenges and opportunities in the Brazil-Asia relationship in the perspective of young diplomats / Pedro Henrique Batista Barbosa (Editor). - Brasília : FUNAG, 2019. 512 p. – (Coleção Relações Internacionais) Tradução de: Os desafios e oportunidades na relação Brasil-Ásia na perspectiva de jovens diplomatas, FUNAG, 2017. ISBN: 978-85-7631-816-3 1. Relações exteriores - Brasil - Países da Ásia. 2. Comércio exterior - Brasil - Países da Ásia. 3. BRICS - Brasil - Rússia - Índia - China - África do Sul. 4. Diplomacia - Brasil I. Barbosa, Pedro Henrique Batista. II. Titulo. CDD 327.8105 Depósito legal na Fundação Biblioteca Nacional conforme Lei nº 10.994, de 14/12/2004. Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance. Confucius More important than acquiring great wisdom is humility when conveying it. Lao-Tzu ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To Ambassador Sergio Moreira Lima, former President of FUNAG, and his entire team, for believing in my publication project and for supporting it from the very beginning. Ambassador Georges Lamazière, former Undersecretary for Asia and the Pacific, for supporting the project and prefacing the book. Professors Oliver Stuenkel and Adriana Abdenur, for agreeing to join in this work. All the co-authors, who were willing to share a little of the experience they gained by defending national interests along with the Asian countries. Ambassadors Cesário Melantonio Neto, Roberto Colin, Wanja Campos da Nóbrega, Manuel Innocencio, Flávio Damico and Cláudio Lins; Ministers Cláudia Vieira dos Santos, Ricardo Ribeiro da Silva, João Marcos Paes Leme and Augusto Souto Pestana; Counselors Marcelo Salum and Maurício Bernardes; and Secretaries Gabriela Resendes and Helena Melchionna. As reviewers of the texts, their comments and notes were valuable in enriching the articles. Ministers and former bosses Gustavo Rocha Menezes and Orlando Leite Ribeiro, whose teachings were indispensable for my professional and intellectual improvement. And, last but not least, God and my family, who taught me that the only way is to believe and persevere. TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword ................................................................................................... 13 Ambassador Georges Lamazière Chapter 1 A Brazilian attempt to understand how China’s government and private sector work ................................................ 17 Germano Corrêa and Pedro Henrique Batista Barbosa Chapter 2 Brazil and Japan: building a common global agenda ..................... 61 João Augusto Costa Vargas Chapter 3 Brazil-India: building a strategic partnership – cooperation between two democratic giants of the 21st century ................................................................................ 97 Paulo Antônio Viana Júnior Chapter 4 Brazil and Russia: building the post-Cold War strategic partnership ........................................................................................... 129 Igor Abdalla Medina de Souza Chapter 5 Brazil-South Korea Relations ........................................................... 165 Gustavo Gerlach da Silva Ziemath and Adriano Giacomet Higa de Aguiar Chapter 61 Strategic aspects of the relations between Brazil and North Korea ..................................................................... 191 Eduardo Figueiredo Siebra Chapter 7 No longer so far away: Southeast Asia’s growing importance for Brazil ......................................................................... 229 Rafael Alonso Veloso Chapter 87 Brazil and Australia: beyond the tyranny of distance .................. 267 Henry Pfeiffer Chapter 9 Twenty-five years of bilateral relations between Brazil and the countries of Central Asia .................................................... 293 Fabiano Joel Wollmann Chapter 10 BRICS, IBSA and the context of the relations between Brazil and Asia ..................................................................................... 329 José Carlos Silvestre Fernandes Chapter 11 The pathway to Brazilian diplomacy in Pakistan.......................... 369 Pedro Henrique Chagas Cabral Chapter 12 Brazil-Afghanistan relations: anatomy, diagnosis and prognosis .................................................................... 399 Thomaz Alexandre Mayer Napoleão Chapter 13 Contemporary Iran: historical perspective and relations with Brazil .................................................................... 445 Rodrigo Alexandre Oliveira de Carvalho Chapter 14 Brazil-Bangladesh relations: challenges to the building of a partnership ................................... 481 Hugo Freitas Peres FOREWORD The diplomatic career is made up of fortunate coincidences. My first job at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1977 was in the then Asia and Oceania Division, which at that time covered the group of countries that now correspond to the General Undersecretariat for Asia and the Pacific, whose leadership I have just taken over. One of my first tasks as undersecretary-general resulted from the honorable invitation to write the foreword to this book, composed of the text of young diplomats who, like me, have begun their careers dealing directly with this dynamic and complex region. At the time of my entry into the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Responsible Pragmatism of President Geisel and Foreign Minister Azeredo da Silveira universalized Brazilian foreign policy, establishing diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China and thinking about approaching the Asian countries that were experiencing rapid economic growth. Japan at that time had the second largest economy in the capitalist world, while China was opening its doors to the world. These countries became known as the Asian tigers, but the debt crisis, in addition to the geographic and cultural distance, have not contributed to the consolidation in Brazil of a perception of the opportunities that Asia provided. Since the turn of the century, Brazil’s relations with that region have grown in density and complexity, and the trade and 13 Georges Lamazière investment flows are at present larger than those with some of our neighbors. Technical cooperation programs and cultural activities have also become more frequent, as are the exchanges of tourists and the number of Brazilians residing in Asia. Brazil’s increased interaction with Asian countries – in addition to the political and economic importance of this region – has made a significant part of our new generation of diplomats become directly and intensely involved with that part of the globe. This book is evidence of such importance and involvement. The growing international projection of Brazil and the new level reached in the relationship with Asian countries have demanded of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs a reallocation of human resources – 40 years ago, a division with five diplomats did the work that today is done by an Undersecretariat General with 26 individuals. In response to the new challenges, it is essential to be able to count on the intellectual quality of young diplomats and their contributions to the debate on the way forward. The fourteen chapters of this book address the relations with Brazil’s main partners in Asia and reflect on the necessary dynamization of relations with some of the countries in the region. The set of countries and interregional mechanisms analyzed indicate that our diplomacy has a broad vision of Asia, whilst being aware of the challenges and attentive to the different opportunities in this complex region. In addition to economic and commercial issues, our young colleagues are concerned with the Brazilian communities in Asia, the possibilities of cooperation and the diffusion of our culture. Nor do they forget the