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Tokyo is closely watching Malaysia and Thailand’s applications to join the Brics group of emerging economies – an alliance that positions itself as a rival to the established trading powerhouses of Europe, the US and Japan.
Japan worries that the Southeast Asian nations may be moving away from the balanced diplomacy both have historically maintained between existing and emerging blocs, analysts say – leaning instead towards one largely influenced by China and Russia.
“There will be a lot of concern about this in Tokyo,” said Go Ito, a professor of politics and international relations at Meiji University in the Japanese capital.
“Thailand has had pretty good relations with China for a while now and we must remember that outside the United States, Thailand is home to the largest number of Confucius Institutes anywhere in the world,” he told This Week in Asia.
The institutes, which are operated by the Chinese government and provide education and cultural programmes, have faced criticism over suggestions that they promote state propaganda.