Top diplomats from South Korea, Japan, and China met for the first time in about four years and agreed to revive cooperation among the Asian neighbors. Despite the lack of a specific timing, they have committed to resuming their leaders’ trilateral summit. This renewed cooperation is no small matter, as these three countries together account for about 25% of the global gross domestic product. However, historical disputes and strategic competition between China and the United States have often hindered their efforts to boost cooperation. Efforts to boost cooperation have often hit a snag due to historical disputes stemming from Japan’s wartime aggression and the strategic competition between China and the United States.
The lack of a specific time for the trilateral summit indicates that it may not happen this year, as South Korea, the summit’s next chair, had hoped. However, the agreement to restore and normalize three-nation cooperation at an early date is a crucial step toward achieving an upcoming Japan-China-South Korea summit. The meeting on Sunday was the first since 2019 and the first since 2019, with the first stand-alone, trilateral summit being held in 2008.
