Japan-China-S. Korea Summit to Focus on Future Cooperation
Seoul, May 14 (Jiji Press)--A proposed summit between Japanese, Chinese and South Korean leaders will be a forum to discuss future-oriented cooperation, Lee Hee-sup, head of the secretariat of an international organization promoting ties among the three countries, said in an interview with Jiji Press.
Institutionalizing collaboration among the three countries is the most important thing, said Lee, secretary-general of the Seoul-based Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat.
The leaders of Japan, China and South Korea are expected to meet in Seoul late this month, the first summit between the three Asian neighbors since 2019.
Lee said that the meeting is an opportunity to revive trilateral cooperation, which has stalled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He said that close cooperation among the three countries is crucial given the complex crisis of global protectionism, geopolitical tensions and regional wars such as the conflict in Ukraine.
The three leaders are set to discuss cooperation that can be felt by the public, focusing on areas such as people-to-people exchanges, digital transformation, sustainable development and climate change, public health and measures against societal aging, economy and trade, and peace and security, Lee said. He added that leaders will in particular focus on boosting exchanges among future generations.
Lee said the trilateral partnership among the Asian neighbors is designed to improve livelihoods and the economy, while Japan, South Korea and the United States are promoting three-way security cooperation. The two frameworks supplement each other as their objectives and interests are essentially different, he said.
He said that smooth Japan-China-South Korea cooperation can have positive impacts on bilateral relations between the countries involved. The trilateral partnership has continued out of the necessity of mutual cooperation even amid chills in bilateral ties, he said.
Institutionalizing cooperation can lead to conflicts being resolved through dialogue and help countries manage tricky situations, Lee said.
On a rift between China and the other two countries on approaches to North Korea, Lee said that no country wants tensions to rise in Northeast Asia, which is evident in the fact that the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat was established with the goal of achieving sustainable peace.
The three countries' leaders have emphasized the need for cooperation in addressing North Korea's nuclear and missile program every time tensions rose on the Korean Peninsula, he said.
Lee said that the three-way cooperation has made remarkable progress since its launch in 1999. He noted that trade among the three countries grew from 130 billion dollars to 780 billion dollars by 2022, and that people-to-people exchanges also expanded.
Trilateral cooperation can also serve as an opportunity to improve bilateral relations, making it an important diplomatic asset for all three countries, he said.
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