Top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi proposes talks with Japan, South Korea
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(From left) China's top diplomat Wang Yi, South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi at an Asean meeting in July.
PHOTO: AFP
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TOKYO - China’s top diplomat Wang Yi proposed high-level talks among China, Japan and South Korea in a meeting with Japan’s Foreign Minister in Indonesia in July, Kyodo news agency reported on Sunday.
The proposal is seen as signalling a willingness to resume talks among the three countries, and Japan is seen accelerating preparations to make it happen by the end of 2023, Kyodo reported, citing unidentified diplomatic sources.
US allies Japan and South Korea are wary of China’s increasing military assertiveness and of growing tensions between China and the United States over a range of issues, including trade and self-ruled Taiwan.
Mr Wang and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi met on the sidelines of an Asean meeting in Indonesia on July 14.
They discussed a Japanese plan to discharge into the sea treated radioactive water from its wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant, but they fell short of an agreement.
The issue of the water could be a sticking point preventing an early meeting of leaders of the three countries, Kyodo said.
The last time the three countries’ leaders met was in December 2019.
Japan conveyed Mr Wang’s proposal for the talks to South Korea, Kyodo said. REUTERS
