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By Hyonhee Shin
SEOUL (Reuters) – The foreign ministers of China, Japan and South Korea agreed on Sunday to revive cooperation between their Asian neighbours and pave the way for a summit of their three leaders as part of the latest move to ease tensions in the important region.
Even as China and the United States re-establish ties, as added at a summit this month between Presidents Xi Jinping and Joe Biden, Beijing fears that Washington and its key regional allies could end their tripartite partnership.
Beijing, Seoul and Tokyo had agreed to hold annual summits starting in 2008 to step up diplomatic and economic exchanges, but bilateral conflicts and the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted that plan, and the three leaders last met in 2019.
The three most sensible diplomats met in the South Korean port of Busan for their first such meeting since 2019, after officials from the three countries agreed in September to hold a trilateral summit “at the most opportune time. “
The three ministers specified a schedule for the trilateral summit.
China’s Xi, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol may not meet this year, but their summit will most likely be held in the near future, South Korean national security adviser Cho Tae-yong told Yonhap. television.
The ministers agreed to 100-minute talks to advance cooperation in six areas, adding security, economy and technology, and announced concrete discussions to prepare for the summit, Japan’s Foreign Ministry said in a press release.
South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin, who is also involved in North Korean affairs, told his counterparts that it is “important to further institutionalize trilateral cooperation so that it becomes a robust and sustainable system,” his ministry said in a statement.
China’s Wang Yi said the three countries play an active role in promoting regional and global progress in a “more progressive manner and attitude. “
Japan’s Yoko Kamikawa said greater trilateral cooperation would contribute to regional peace, as the external security scenario is “more serious and complex than ever. “
In bilateral talks, Park and Kamikawa condemned North Korea’s release last week of its first spy satellite and agreed on responses to arms deals between Pyongyang and Moscow, Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
To spoil the cooperative tone, Kamikawa called a South Korean court’s order requiring Japan to compensate an organization of forced graffiti in its brothels in wartime “extremely regrettable” and called on Seoul to take appropriate action, Japanese news firm Kyodo reported.
Park, who met separately with China’s Wang, invited him to stop in Seoul and they agreed on strategic communications, Seoul said. Park called on China to play a constructive role in encouraging North Korea to avoid further provocations and embark on the path of denuclearization.
Beijing’s Foreign Ministry said Wang warned Park to politicize economic and technological issues, in the context of China-U. S. relations. Relationships, tensions over semiconductors and other industrial disputes.
Kamikawa, who met with Wang on Saturday, expressed hope that there will be a security discussion between Tokyo and Beijing “in the near future. “Wang stressed the desire for China and Japan to ensure they “pose no threat” to each other and respect each other’s valid concerns, Beijing said.
South Korea’s Yoon and Japan’s Kishida will mend their broken ties through history and industrial disputes by hosting a historic three-way summit in August with Biden.
In July, Wang warned that U. S. efforts to establish ties with Seoul and Tokyo could simply inflame regional tensions and cause confrontation.
(Reporting via Hyonhee Shin in Seoul; Additional reporting via Sam Nussey and Daniel Leussink in Tokyo, Laurie Chen in Beijing and Hyunyoung Yi in Seoul; Editing via William Mallard and Clarence Fernandez)