Trilateral Summit Between South Korea, Japan, and China Aimed at Regional Stability
In a significant diplomatic event, the leaders of South Korea, China, and Japan converged in Seoul for their first trilateral summit in nearly five years. The meeting occurred amid rising regional tensions, underscored by North Korea’s announcement of a new spy satellite launch just hours before the summit.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol opened the discussions by stressing that any satellite launch using ballistic missile technology would violate United Nations Security Council resolutions. Such actions, he argued, threaten regional and global peace and stability. His remarks faced concurrence from Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese Premier Li Qiang.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang made a compelling case for keeping economic and trade issues separate from political and security concerns. He urged the regional powers to reject protectionism, secession, and the severing of supply chains. Li praised this occasion as a 'new beginning' among the three nations, focusing on the resumption of trilateral relations amid global tensions.
Throughout the summit, the leaders emphasized their common interest and responsibility in ensuring North Korea's denuclearization and maintaining stability on the Korean Peninsula. President Yoon remarked that this issue underscores the necessity for a robust tripartite cooperation system. Prime Minister Kishida echoed these sentiments, emphasizing stability and denuclearization as shared priorities.
The summit also provided a platform to address other pressing issues, such as economic collaboration, scientific and technological advancements, health, population aging, and people-to-people exchanges. The leaders agreed to hold such trilateral meetings regularly to ensure ongoing collaboration.
Notably, President Yoon requested Prime Minister Li to leverage China’s role as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council to ensure regional peace. This call to action comes as North Korea continues to signal military provocations, heightening the urgency for diplomatic resolutions.
- During a press interaction, it was discussed that in the 7th and 8th joint declarations between South Korea, Japan, and China, the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula was explicitly mentioned. While it was not the official agenda item for this 9th summit, efforts were ongoing to include this critical issue in the forthcoming joint declaration.
- The meeting also offered an opportunity to resolve longstanding issues. President Yoon and Prime Minister Kishida addressed the Line Yahoo incident, agreeing to manage it effectively to prevent it from becoming a point of contention. Both countries celebrated the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations by emphasizing economic cooperation, particularly in the hydrogen sector and resource collaboration.
- Interestingly, Chinese Premier Li began his bilateral interaction by relaying greetings from President Xi Jinping to President Yoon, highlighting the importance of maintaining close cooperative relations. While the summit succeeded in bringing China back into the Northeast Asian cooperation framework, no specific mention was made about potential visits between the two leaders.
