The foreign ministers of South Korea, Japan and China yesterday agreed that a summit of their leaders on hold for nearly three years should be held soon to mend ties.
The ministers met in a bid to restore what had been a regular forum to discuss cooperation until it collapsed over what Seoul and Beijing saw as Tokyo’s reluctance to own up to its wartime past.
“Based on the accomplishments achieved through this meeting, the three ministers decided to continue their efforts to hold the trilateral summit at the earliest convenient time for the three countries,” a joint statement after the meeting said.
PHOTO: AFP
Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) said at a joint news conference that much depended on Japan proving that it is serious about recognizing its World War II actions in the region.
“The war has been over for 70 years, but the problem with history remains a present issue, not an issue of the past,” he said referring to the end of WWII.
South Korea and China see Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s push to recast Japan’s war record in a less apologetic tone as an attempt to whitewash history, and have urged him to uphold former leaders’ statements of apology.
Abe has recently shown signs of softening his stance, helping to ease relations.
Meeting on the sidelines of the event earlier, Wang expressed hope that South Korea would join the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs Yun Byung-se said Seoul is reviewing its options, a South Korean official told reporters.
Japan-China ties remain frosty despite Abe having met Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) for the first time in November last year. South Korean President Park Geun-hye has yet to have a two-way summit with Abe.
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan shares the same values as those that fought in WWII, and nations must unite to halt the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai said The government yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Taiwan honoring V-E Day signifies “our growing connections with the international community,” President William Lai (賴清德) said at a reception in Taipei on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. One of the major lessons of World War II is that “authoritarianism and aggression lead only to slaughter, tragedy and greater inequality,” Lai said. Even more importantly, the war also taught people that “those who cherish peace cannot
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
The Philippines yesterday criticized a “high-risk” maneuver by a Chinese vessel near the disputed Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島) in a rare incident involving warships from the two navies. The Scarborough Shoal — a triangular chain of reefs and rocks in the contested South China Sea — has been a flash point between the countries since China seized it from the Philippines in 2012. Taiwan also claims the shoal. Monday’s encounter took place approximately 11.8 nautical miles (22km) southeast” of the Scarborough Shoal, the Philippine military said, during ongoing US-Philippine military exercises that Beijing has criticized as destabilizing. “The Chinese frigate BN 554 was
RSS