US, Japan and S. Korea united on N. Korea, Taiwan issues: Officials

They stress alignment despite frayed Tokyo-Seoul relations

(From left) South Korea's Vice-Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun, Japan's Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Takeo Mori and US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman at their meeting in Tokyo yesterday. PHOTO: REUTERS
(From left) South Korea's Vice-Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun, Japan's Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Takeo Mori and US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman at their meeting in Tokyo yesterday. PHOTO: REUTERS

The United States and its two East Asian allies, Japan and South Korea, yesterday discussed stability in the Taiwan Strait and the denuclearisation of North Korea, stressing their policy alignment despite frayed relations between Tokyo and Seoul.

In their first trilateral vice-foreign ministerial consultations in four years, the three countries said they "stood shoulder to shoulder" in their strategic coordination in the Indo-Pacific and over North Korea.

"When countries take actions that run counter to the United States' interests or that threaten our partners and allies, we will not let those challenges go unanswered," US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said in Tokyo.

Japan has been taking an increasingly tough stance on Taiwan, angering China. This month, it warned of the need for a "sense of crisis" over the Taiwan Strait in its annual defence White Paper, while Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso said that Japan should defend Taiwan in case of a Chinese attack as this poses an "existential threat" to Japan's security.

The State Department said yesterday that Ms Sherman will, after visiting South Korea and Mongolia as planned, travel to China from Sunday to Monday, and then to Oman on Tuesday.

She will meet Chinese officials, including Foreign Minister Wang Yi. The State Department said that the US looks forward to candid exchanges "to advance US interests and values and to responsibly manage the (US-China) relationship".

North Korea's denuclearisation was also high on the agenda.

While US President Joe Biden has indicated Washington's openness for dialogue with Pyongyang, the three diplomats agreed on the need for patience.

Japan's Vice-Foreign Minister Takeo Mori said that it was impossible to predict North Korea's next move, while his South Korean counterpart Choi Jong-kun stressed that it was a "long game".

Dr Choi said: "We shouldn't be too hasty."

North Korea has thus far rebuffed American entreaties, to which Ms Sherman said: "We must exercise some patience - perhaps not too much but some."

Still, the united trilateral front must overcome icy ties between Japan and South Korea.

South Korea's Presidential Blue House said on Monday that President Moon Jae-in will not visit Japan for the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics tomorrow.

The latest setback came after Mr Hirohisa Soma, the deputy chief of mission at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, reportedly ridiculed Mr Moon's attempts to improve bilateral ties as "masturbating with himself".

While the two countries host the bulk of US troops in Asia, this is but the latest rift in bilateral ties that have long been clouded by historical disputes over wartime forced labour and "comfort women" - a euphemism for the estimated 200,000 women who were forced into the sex trade by the Japanese military during World War II.

Tokyo has blamed Seoul's lax oversight on materials with potential for military use in striking off South Korea from its "white list" of trusted countries with preferential export controls. This prompted Seoul to threaten to pull out of a trilateral military intelligence-sharing pact with the US and Japan.

Mr Mori and Dr Choi yesterday agreed on the need to restore bilateral ties to a "healthy and sound state", vowing to continue talks at the working diplomatic level.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on July 22, 2021, with the headline US, Japan and S. Korea united on N. Korea, Taiwan issues: Officials. Subscribe