HONOLULU -- There is an irresistible temptation to sort out winners and losers in the post-Sept. 11 world. Relations with the United States are the grand prize as governments scramble for position in the war against terrorism.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is a big winner; he and President George W. Bush seemed to have forged a new relationship for their countries in the aftermath of the attacks. Pakistan is also in the plus column: President Pervez Musharraf's decision to side with the U.S. against the Taliban regime it supported averted a dangerous drift in relations. Are Islamabad's gains Delhi's losses? Washington says no, but some zero-sum strategists in India see their country losing status as Washington courts Pakistan in an attempt to rein in Muslim fundamentalists in Afghanistan.
In Northeast Asia, the scorekeeping is especially acute. Although the governments in both Beijing and Tokyo would deny competing for Washington's favor, there is a tendency in both capitals to view the other as a rival for Washington's attention. In fact, however, the trilateral relationship needs to be viewed as just that -- a relationship of three partners. They may not be equals, but zero-sum calculations must be resisted.