Japan and the ASEAN Regional Forum: the Development of Confidence Building Measures in Asia Pacific
Confidence-building measures are one of the key diplomatic tools which aim is to create the supportive and friendly relations among regional countries. That is why confidence building measures, along with preventive diplomacy, became an essential element to be discussed within the framework of the ASEAN Regional Forum, established in 1994. The wide variety of approaches and positions of the countriesparticipants led to the fact that over 16 years of the Forum, participants have failed to create a final agreement on the implementation of concrete measures; however, participating countries have developed two «baskets» of measures, as well as the road map and working groups. Special attention should be given the position of Japan, an activist within the Forum.