Diplomasi Medis COVID-19 Jepang di Afrika

DIGIT PRAKTIKA, Siti Daulah Khoiriati, MA.

2022 | Skripsi | S1 ILMU HUBUNGAN INTERNASIONAL

Jepang secara aktif telah lama berupaya menjaga hubungan baik dengan negara-negara di Afrika. Pemberian bantuan pertama kali tercatat di tahun 1954, dan terus berkembang metode serta bentuknya hingga sekarang. Dalam konteks COVID-19, Jepang dipandang sebagai salah satu pioner dalam penyebaran bantuan medis di Asia dan kawasan Indo-Pasifik. Upaya-upaya oleh Jepang dan QUAD dalam memberikan bantuan medis dapat diartikan sebagai bagian dari kepentingan dalam kontestasi mereka dengan Cina, yang merupakan salah satu negara pertama yang merespon pandemi dengan bantuan perlengkapan medis dan vaksin. Terlebih, karena inisiatif QUAD di bidang vaksin muncul setelah supply vaksin dari Cina diberitakan berkualitas kurang baik. Tulisan ini akan berusaha mengkaji proses diplomasi medis Jepang, sebagai salah satu tonggak utama diplomasi Jepang di masa pandemi, dalam mengamankan kepentingan nasionalnya di Afrika.

Japan has been actively trying to maintain good relations with countries in Africa. The provision of aid was first recorded in 1954, and its methods and forms have continued to evolve until now. In the context of COVID-19, Japan is seen as one of the pioneers in the distribution of medical aid in Asia and the Indo-Pacific region. However, the efforts by Japan and QUAD in providing medical assistance can be interpreted as part of their interest in their contestation with China, which was one of the first countries to respond to the pandemic with the help of medical supplies and vaccines. Moreover, the QUAD initiative on vaccines reported to have emerged after the supply of vaccines from China was reported to be of poor quality. This paper will attempt to examine the Japanese medical diplomacy process, as one of the main pillars of Japanese diplomacy during the pandemic, in securing its national interests in Africa.

Kata Kunci : Jepang, Afrika, Cina, Diplomasi Medis, COVID-19