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 Japan Brief |
| 【Japan Brief】Leaders of Japan, China, and ROK Hold Talks in Beijing |
Japan Brief/FPCJ, No. 0963
October 14, 2009
Leaders of Japan, China, and ROK Hold Talks in Beijing
On October 10, Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama had talks with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. The three leaders issued a Joint Statement on the 10th Anniversary of Trilateral Cooperation confirming the three countries’ cooperation toward laying out the specifics of the East Asian community idea advocated by Prime Minister Hatoyama, and a Joint Statement on Sustainable Development, which aims for economic development while also placing importance on environmental issues. The joint statements were announced at a joint press conference following the leaders’ talks.
Long-term Goals: Development of an East Asian Community and Regional Cooperation
Summit meetings of the leaders of Japan, China, and South Korea began ten years ago at the yearly meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the leaders of Japan, China, and South Korea, where the three leaders held talks separately. The summit this year marked the 10th anniversary of those talks. The meeting of the three leaders in Beijing attracted particular interest, given complex developments in East Asia, such as former US President Bill Clinton’s visit to North Korea in August, the inauguration of the Hatoyama Cabinet in Japan on September 16, and the first official trip of a Chinese leader to North Korea in 18 years when Premier Wen Jiabao visited Pyongyang from October 4 to 6.
According to Japan’s major newspapers, Prime Minister Hatoyama stated at the beginning of the talks that while the Japan-US alliance is important, he wants Japan, as an Asian nation, to create a policy that would place more importance on Asia, with Japan, China, and South Korea as the core countries of the community. In connection with this statement, the clause “The three countries remained committed to the development of an East Asian community… as a long term goal, and to regional cooperation” was added to the Joint Statement on the 10th Anniversary of Trilateral Cooperation (Mainichi Shimbun, evening edition, October 10).
North Korea the Central Issue
It was reported that the three leaders spent the largest part of their talks discussing North Korea, a major destabilizing element in the East Asian situation. Their 10th anniversary joint statement said “We will make joint efforts with other parties for an early resumption of the Six-Party Talks.” Premier Wen said that North Korea had indicated it would not oppose the Six-Party Talks and that it wanted to improve relations with not only the United States but also Japan and South Korea. Wen continued that this was a chance to engage North Korea but that this chance could evaporate very quickly (Asahi Shimbun, October 11).
Prime Minister Hatoyama responded by saying that Japan’s issues with North Korea, in addition to development of nuclear capabilities and missile launching, include the abduction of Japanese nationals. He said that Premier Wen had relayed to him that North Korean leader Kim Jong-il also wishes to improve Japan-North Korea relations and wanted to believe Kim’s words. Hatoyama also welcomed negotiations between the United States and North Korea and said that he hoped North Korea would begin taking a new tack. South Korean President Lee Myung-bak explained [in the summit talks] his idea that the goal is not to bring North Korea back to the Six-Party Talks but to reach a comprehensive, irrevocable accord on the nuclear issue, in other words, to strike a “grand bargain.” Lee said that he also welcomed North Korea’s saying that it wants talks with South Korea too (Asahi Shimbun).
Newspaper Editorials
Japan’s five major newspapers on October 11 all ran editorials on the trilateral summit. The main theme of all the editorials was the East Asian community concept that Prime Minister Hatoyama hopes to develop.
According to the Yomiuri Shimbun, “‘It could be said that we have so far depended on the United States too much,’ Hatoyama said during a trilateral meeting with his Chinese and South Korean counterparts… Hatoyama’s remarks were apparently aimed at further pushing the idea that the foreign policy of the former administration led by the Liberal Democratic Party was dependent on the United States, as well as stressing a shift in Japan’s foreign policy following the change in government.” Having said that, the Yomiuri emphasized that “[Hatoyama’s] plan to build an East Asian community could be interpreted as a move to shift Japan’s foreign policy weight away from the United States and toward Asia. The Japan-US alliance should remain the cornerstone of Japan’s foreign policy, and Hatoyama should repeatedly stress this point to avoid any misunderstanding.”
The Asahi Shimbun expressed its support, in principle, for Prime Minister Hatoyama’s diplomacy, saying “[The three leaders] swore to ‘face history squarely and advance towards the future.’ The trilateral summit, which has been going on for ten years, has reached a new stage of mutual trust and dialogue with the start of the new administration in Japan. The East Asian community idea espoused by Prime Minister Hatoyama has become a shared, long-term goal. The Hatoyama administration’s Asian diplomacy is trying to get a start in dealing with the still-awkward relations among the three countries because of historical issues by moving toward the future whose symbol is the East Asian community.”
In its editorial, the Mainichi Shimbun expressed support for the East Asian community concept but opined that “The United States, on edge because it feels that Japan may have become anti-American, should not be forgotten. To avoid an unexpected backlash, the administration should give a clear overall view of Hatoyama’s community theory.” And, saying “China has reported that North Korea wants to resume talks with Japan,” and considering that “the solidarity shown by the three leaders sent a message to North Korea,” the Mainichi called on Hatoyama to “demonstrate through future achievements that diplomacy is better than military force.”
Regarding the two joint statements issued by the three leaders, The Nikkei said that “despite the high-flown language, it’s clear that the statements lacked substance.” It pointed out that the three leaders did not specifically discuss their disputes over economic issues, saying “They can’t be said to have developed genuine friendly relations if they can’t talk frankly about basic economic issues.” On the North Korea issue, The Nikkei held that “No progress has been made in getting North Korea to give up its nuclear capabilities. China’s provision of energy is propping up the dictatorial regime. If China is serious [about getting North Korea to abandon nuclear development], it should devote more effort to that cause.”
The Sankei Shimbun said “Some are of the view that Prime Minister Hatoyama has a community like the European Union in mind. But in that case, he should explain how China, which has different political and social systems, will be positioned. The precondition for Japan exerting leadership in Asian diplomacy lies in liaison and cooperation between Japan and the United States through their alliance. We want the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister to bear this firmly in mind.”
(Copyright 2009 Foreign Press Center, Japan)
*Japan Brief is an original production of the Foreign Press Center, Japan, and does not represent the views of the Government of Japan or of any other body.
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