GT ‘Korea-China-Japan cooperation can and must advance further’ editorial
“Is it difficult to choose between flowers, fruits, dirt, and danger?”
“Relationships are clouded by U.S. intervention… The U.S. government pursues pro-Japanese and pro-U.S. policies.”
China’s state-run Global Times (GT) argued on the 25th that Korea and Japan should have strategic autonomy. This is interpreted as an intention to keep the United States in check ahead of the ’10th Trilateral Foreign Ministers’ Meeting of Korea, Japan, and China’ held in Busan the next day.
In an editorial titled ‘Korea-China-Japan cooperation can and must advance further’ on the 25th, the media said, “Joint efforts by China, Japan, and Korea are needed to achieve a ‘win-win-win’ relationship.” He emphasized, “Japan and Korea in particular need to show more strategic autonomy.”
He also said, “Even if you take a slight turn for various reasons, it is never too late to correct your direction and quickly get back on the right path.” He added, “It is a choice between the sense of victory given by flowers and fruits a few steps ahead and the geopolitical quagmire of filth and danger a few steps behind.” “Is it that difficult to do?” he asked.
He also said, “In the meantime, the intervention of external forces, that is, the United States, is increasing significantly in the East Asia region, casting a dark cloud over the relationship between the three countries.” He added, “With the United States strongly intervening as an extraregional country in East Asia, cooperation among the three countries of Korea, China, and Japan is increasing.” “The mechanism was changed, disrupted and even destroyed.”
At the same time, “The pro-American and pro-Japanese policies pursued by the Yoon Seok-yeol administration have made the pattern of taking on both sides of the American front to block China more evident,” he said, adding, “Today, the factor of the United States in Korea and Japan can be overcome. “The United States itself has no intention of completely cutting off from China,” he emphasized.
He continued, “The United States has recently repeatedly emphasized that it does not want ‘decoupling’ with China. “This is meant to minimize the cost of competition with China,” he said. “When South Korea and Japan pursue the resumption and continuous development of the China-Japan-Korea cooperation mechanism from the perspective of their respective national interests, the United States has no right to interfere, and much has been said about this.” “It’s not appropriate to do that,” he said, raising his voice.
At the same time, “ultimately it depends on the choices of Korea and Japan.” “This outlook can only become clearer when the cloud hanging over the relationship between the three countries is resolved,” he said. “In the end, China, Japan, and Korea are ‘neighbors that cannot be left.’ “Asia is the shared home of all three countries, and the benefits of trilateral cooperation far outweigh the potential downsides of hostility.”
The three countries’ foreign ministers’ meeting will be chaired by Foreign Minister Park Jin and attended by Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.
This is Foreign Minister Kamikawa’s first visit to Korea since taking office last September, and Minister Wang’s visit to Korea for the first time in two years since 2021.
It is customary for trilateral dialogue to begin with consultations between working-level officials, followed by a meeting of foreign ministers, and then a summit. Therefore, it is expected that there will be intensive exchange of opinions for the early holding of the 9th Korea-Japan-China summit, which is expected to take place within this year or early next year.
Since its inception in 2008, the Korea-Japan-China summit has been chaired in that order by Japan, South Korea, and China. After being last held in Chengdu, China in December 2019, it was suspended for nearly four years due to COVID-19 and historical conflicts between Korea and Japan.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.