Tokyo's "strategic diplomacy" with a global vision has taken shape ever since Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reassumed office at the end of 2012, with the intention of not only bolstering Japan's domestic development but also countering China.

Southeast Asia and South Asia are among the priority areas for Abe's diplomatic efforts. During 2013 Abe visited all the 10 countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Japan convened the ASEAN-Japan Commemorative Summit Meeting in December in Tokyo. Abe also hopes to rope in India. A few important figures of Abe government traveled to India last year and Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko paid a visit to New Delhi after a long interlude of 53 years with no royal Japanese visits. Abe himself is set to visit there late January.

Economic diplomacy is the foundation of Abe's foreign policies toward these countries. Aiming to wield increasing political influence upon them, Abe's cabinet has pledged to contribute official assistance worth as much as tens of billions of dollars for economic and social development in India and Southeast Asian nations or exempt them of debts of several billion dollars.

The Japanese government also offers backup in infrastructure cooperation, especially in transportation and power engineering projects. According to Kyodo News, Japan voiced a decision in late December to improve the highway systems and build new roads with six nations including India, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Thailand.

Abe's delicate "yen diplomacy" to lure these nations indicates Japan's ambition to compete with and contain China. Abe told The Wall Street Journal during an exclusive interview in October that he envisions a resurgent Japan taking a more assertive leadership role in Asia to counter China's power.

But in actuality, Abe's intention to rein in China will prove a wishful thinking. With an unstable political scenario and inconsistent strategies, it will probably be hard for Abe to continue such a high-profile diplomatic endeavor. Economic slump and piled-up national debts add to the existing difficulty. China's influence and in particular its geopolitical and historical advantages in dealing Southeast and South Asian countries are hard for Japan to follow.

Abe's efforts to duplicate China's diplomatic success will perhaps end up in vain. Most countries he targets are committed to independent diplomacy with a philosophy of "pragmatism." Taking their national interests as the foremost priority, they avoid becoming cat's paws.

The author is an associate research fellow at the Institute of Japanese Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn