A US effort to show unity between two of its closest allies backfired, after Japanese and South Korean officials walked out and left the No. 2 US diplomat to face reporters on her own.
US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman faced the media alone following talks on Wednesday, after Japan protested a visit by South Korea’s police chief to islets administered by Seoul, but claimed by Tokyo.
“As has been the case for some time, there are some bilateral differences between Japan and the Republic of Korea that are continuing to be resolved,” Sherman said, without elaborating on the dispute that led to the absence of Japanese Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Takeo Mori and South Korean Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Choi Jong-kun.
Photo: Reuters
“One of those differences which is unrelated to today’s meeting, has led to the change in format for today’s press availability,” she said.
Japan said that it objected to the news conference because South Korean National Police Agency Commissioner-General Kim Chang-yong visited the disputed islets, which are called Dokdo by Seoul and Takeshima by Tokyo.
A Japanese embassy spokesman in Washington said that the islets are “indisputably an inherent part of the territory of Japan” and that Tokyo had lodged a protest with Seoul over the visit.
“Under these circumstances, we have decided that it is inappropriate to hold a joint news conference,” the spokesman said.
Choi confirmed that the reason his Japanese counterpart did not attend the news conference was the “issue surrounding our police chief’s visit to Dokdo.”
Sherman said the talks had been “very constructive,” which “demonstrates exactly why the trilateral format with the United States, Japan and the Republic of Korea is so important and powerful.”
Tokyo and Seoul have had strained relations for decades due to Japan’s rule over the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945.
Flare-ups are a source of concern for Washington, which fears tensions between its two closest Asian allies could have repercussions for regional security.
During the trilateral meeting on Wednesday, the three sides reaffirmed their “shared commitment” to the “complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” Sherman said.
She renewed US President Joe Biden’s offer of dialogue with North Korea, which so far remains unanswered.
She added that Washington, Tokyo and Seoul oppose “activities that undermine, destabilize or threaten the rules-based international order” in the Indo-Pacific region and in the Taiwan Strait, a clear warning to China.
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