BEIJING: China announced on Tuesday that it had reached an agreement with Japan and South Korea to convene a summit involving the leaders of the three countries “as early as possible.”
This development followed a rare meeting in Seoul involving senior diplomats from the three nations.
The three-way talks, which featured deputy and assistant ministers from China, Japan, and South Korea, were perceived as an effort to address Beijing’s apprehensions regarding the deepening security affiliations between Washington, Tokyo, and Seoul.
South Korea hosts Japan, China as US allies try to reassure Beijing https://t.co/peyOCSRDu0 pic.twitter.com/zhbeQwUtD3
— Reuters (@Reuters) September 26, 2023
China characterized the discussions as an “in-depth discussion on promoting the stable restarting of cooperation.” Foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin emphasized that “cooperation between China, Japan, and South Korea is in the common interests of the three parties.”
According to Wang, the three countries have also agreed to convene a meeting of their foreign ministers “in the next few months” and to facilitate “the holding of a leaders’ meeting as early as possible at a time convenient to all three countries.”
South Korea’s foreign ministry echoed these sentiments, affirming that the diplomats had “agreed to hold the trilateral summit meeting at the earliest time possible and host a trilateral ministerial meeting in preparation.”
The last such trilateral summit occurred in 2019. Subsequent attempts at leader-level summits were hampered by diplomatic and historical disagreements between Seoul and Tokyo, partly related to Japan’s colonial rule over the Korean peninsula from 1910 to 1945.
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South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin emphasized that collaboration among the three nations “plays a significant role not only in Northeast Asia but also in the peace, stability, and prosperity of the world.” He pointed out that together, these nations “account for 20 percent of the world’s population and 25 percent of the global GDP.”
Amid the escalating threat posed by nuclear-armed North Korea, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has drawn Seoul closer to its long-standing ally, Washington. Simultaneously, he has sought to improve relations with Japan, another close US ally.
Deputy foreign ministers from China, Japan and South Korea are meeting in Seoul to discuss the potential resumption of trilateral summits between the leaders of the three countries. pic.twitter.com/shpPJfFe1J
— TaiwanPlus News (@taiwanplusnews) September 26, 2023
In August, Yoon and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga declared the commencement of a “new chapter” in close three-way security cooperation following a historic summit at Camp David in the United States. However, Beijing expressed dissatisfaction over a statement released during the Camp David summit, in which the three allies criticized China’s “aggressive behavior” in the South China Sea.
China, South Korea’s largest trading partner, is also North Korea’s primary ally and economic supporter. While Tokyo, Seoul, and Washington have conducted joint military exercises in response to North Korean threats, Beijing has sent senior officials to attend military parades in Pyongyang.
Moreover, China asserts a territorial claim over Taiwan, pledging to reunify it by force if necessary. Washington, a key ally of Taipei, Seoul, and Tokyo, has mentioned 2027 as a possible timeline for a Chinese invasion.
In April, South Korean President Yoon remarked that tensions regarding Taiwan stemmed from “attempts to change the status quo by force,” resulting in a diplomatic dispute between Seoul and Beijing, with each side lodging protests.
