Japan, South Korea and China agree to boost trilateral ties

China’s, Japan’s, and South Korea’s foreign ministries agreed on Sunday to rekindle cooperation among Asian neighbors and pave the way for a meeting of their three presidents, in the latest effort to defuse tensions in the critical area.

Even as China and the US heal strained ties, including a summit between Presidents Xi Jinping and Joe Biden this month, Beijing is anxious that Washington and its major regional allies are deepening their three-way cooperation.

Since 2008, Beijing, Seoul, and Tokyo have planned to have yearly summits to boost diplomatic and economic relations, but two-way squabbles and the COVID-19 epidemic have disrupted the plan, with the three presidents last meeting in 2019.

The three senior diplomats gathered for the first time in 2019 in the South Korean port of Busan after officials from the three nations agreed in September to have a trilateral summit at the “earliest convenient moment.”

The three ministers did not provide a timetable for the trilateral meeting.

China’s Xi, Japan’s Fumio Kishida, and South Korea’s Yoon Suk Yeol may not be able to meet this year, but a meeting is probable in the near future, according to South Korea’s national security advisor Cho Tae-yong, according to Yonhap news TV.

The ministers agreed in their 100-minute meeting to develop cooperation in six areas, including security, economy, and technology, as well as to push concrete conversations in preparation for the summit, according to Japan’s foreign ministry.

South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin, who is also worried about North Korean difficulties, told his counterparts that it was “essential to further institutionalize trilateral cooperation in order for it to mature into a stable and durable system,” according to a statement from his ministry.

“The three nations should take a more active role in fostering regional and global growth by adopting a more progressive style and attitude,” according to China’s Wang Yi.

Greater trilateral collaboration, according to Japan’s Yoko Kamikawa, would assist in regional peace since the worldwide security situation has grown “more serious and complicated than before.”

In bilateral meetings, Park and Kamikawa blasted North Korea’s launch of its first spy satellite last week and vowed to step up reactions to Pyongyang-Moscow arms negotiations, according to a statement from Seoul’s foreign ministry.