Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (L) holds talks with South Korean President Park Geun-hye in Seoul, capital of the Republic of Korea (ROK), October 31, 2015. “I would like to have meaningful talks (with two other leaders) through frank exchange of views on various issues facing the region and the world”, Abe told reporters at Haneda airport in Tokyo prior to his departure.
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Park said she agreed with Li and Abe to work toward the conclusion of a 16-nation free trade area, as well as a three-way free trade deal that has been on the table since 2013.
No major breakthrough is expected, but just getting together in the same room – their first formal meeting since May 2012 – is a good sign.
However, bilateral relations have witnessed gradual recovery since the two countries reached a four-point principled agreement in November past year, which paved the way for an ice-breaking meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Abe days later.
Abe also said he hoped the summit would contribute to peace and stability in Northeast Asia.
Despite close links of the three economies, strained relations between Japan and its two neighbours have prevented them from integrating in a way that would fully utilise their potential and create synergies.
The countries also pledged to hold a leaders’ summit every year and push to deepen their economic cooperation by accelerating free trade negotiations among themselves.
Park, who took office in early 2013, had until now repeatedly refused to meet Abe, saying Japan had yet to properly atone for its past actions. Many in South Korea and China see Abe as trying to whitewash Japanese atrocities inflicted during its colonization of the Korean Peninsula and invasion of China in the first half of the 20th century.
Carter said discussions at an upcoming defense summit in Malaysia would include developments in the South China Sea, “the most notable of which in the a year ago has been the unprecedented rate of dredging and military activity by China”.
Another factor complicating relations in the region is a heated territorial dispute between Tokyo and Beijing over a group of islands in the East China Sea.
The summit coincided with a visit by US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter to the Demilitarized Zone dividing the peninsula, during which he urged the North to avoid any future provocations.
China is already South Korea’s largest export market and a favorite destination for business investment.
Although much attention has been focused on history and territory, analysts said they believe the talks are more likely to be driven by economic and security issues.
A UN coalition led by the United States fought on South Korea’s side during the 3-year war against a North Korea backed by China and the Soviet Union.
Japan is unlikely to get too involved in the South China Sea dispute since it’s not a direct party to the conflict, he said.
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However, the USA wants Japan and South Korea to be on better terms to counter China’s growing geopolitical influence, including in the South China Sea and also to strengthen security cooperation against North Korea.
