South Korea, China, Japan showing different reactions to Park’s trilateral summit proposal

Posted on : 2014-11-15 16:09 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
It won’t be easy to reach a compromise, particularly on historical issues, that would allow a summit to go ahead
 Myanmar
Myanmar

After President Park Geun-hye expressed her hope at the ASEAN+3 meeting on Nov. 13 that South Korea, China, and Japan could hold a trilateral summit, the three countries have been responding to the idea with subtle differences, sparking interest in the actions they will take in the future. Since Park herself stated that a trilateral foreign ministers needs to precede the summit meeting, for the time being a war of nerves is likely to be waged between the three countries about the timing and goals of the foreign minister conference.

South Korea, whose turn it is to chair the meeting of foreign ministers - if it takes place - seems intent on making use of its proposal for the meeting to become a mediator in Northeast Asian diplomacy.

“We’re making an effort to hold the trilateral foreign minister meeting as early as the end of December. For a number of reasons, including the recent multilateral meeting, it is fair to say that the overall mood is better than last year [when plans for a trilateral summit meeting fell through],” said Joo Cheol-gi, Blue House Senior Secretary for Security and Foreign Affairs. The optimistic remarks were made during a press briefing at Brisbane, Australia, the site of the G-20 Summit, on Nov. 14.

The country that is most enthusiastic about holding the meeting is Japan. Immediately after Park made the proposal, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was in Naypyidaw, Myanmar, at the time, said that he wanted to have the trilateral foreign ministers meeting soon and proceed with a summit, according to a report by Kyodo News.

“We welcome Park’s proactive response to the idea of holding a trilateral summit,” said Yoshihide Suga, chief cabinet secretary and spokesperson for the Japanese government, on Nov. 14.

Though China expressed its theoretical support for the trilateral summit that Park is proposing, it underscored the importance of Japan’s attitude.

During the regular press briefing on Nov. 14, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei stated that China values cooperation among the three countries. At the same time, Hong said, China hopes that Japan will show that it is serious about genuinely improving relations with its neighbors.

During the Japan-China summit that took place on Nov. 10, Chinese President Xi Jinping repeatedly brought up historical issues. “The Japanese government can promote amicable relations by endorsing the statements made by past governments including the Murayama Statement [of 1995, an apology for damage inflicted by Japan on its neighbors during war],” he said.

The same is true of the South Korean government. “Our position that the Japanese government must first take meaningful action about the problems of the past remains unchanged,” Joo said during the briefing on Thursday.

Nevertheless, Japan appears to be hoping that the South Korean government, which has linked the idea of holding a South Korea-Japan summit with the issue of the comfort women, will have a change of heart.

Even if a trilateral foreign ministers meeting takes place before the end of the year, it will not be easy for the three countries to reach a compromise that satisfies all of them.

By Seok Jin-hwan, Blue House correspondent in Brisbane, Gil Yun-hyung, Tokyo correspondent and Seong Yeon-cheol, Beijing correspondent

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