Northeast Asia Diplomacy: A Trilateral Way Forward?

A trilateral approach to China, Japan and South Korea relations may be able to do what bilateral negotiations cannot.

Source: Flickr

[comment/analysis] After two years of diplomatic stagnancy between Japan and its two key Northeast Asian neighbors – China and South Korea – there has been renewed urgency by the administration of Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to reset relations by coordinating bilateral summits with his Chinese and Korean counterparts, Xi Jinping and Park Geun-hye. With regard to China, Tokyo has been scrambling to arrange a meeting between Abe and Xi – even if it is merely cosmetic – in order to defuse tensions. Despite Abe’s persistence, however, Beijing has resisted the possibility, sticking to its position that Japan first must provide concessions – both in the East China Sea and on visits to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine. The best chance of a meeting might be on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit to be hosted in Beijing in November.

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