Strategic autonomy key to good trilateral ties

Following Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's meeting with former Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi in Jakarta in mid-July, and ROK President Yoon Suk-yeol expressing on multiple occasions Seoul's willingness to help resume the China-ROK-Japan meeting mechanism, there has been speculation that the vice-ministerial-level meetings of the three countries will be resumed. Reports have now emerged suggesting that a meeting is due to be held in Seoul on Tuesday.

The meeting mechanism was initiated in 2007 and was suspended because of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019. An important reason why it has not been resumed till now is the divisive efforts of the United States to unite its anti-China front in East Asia by brokering a "reconciliation" between the Fumio Kishida government of Japan and the Yoon Suk-yeol government of the Republic of Korea.

Although both Seoul and Tokyo have expressed their respective willingness to push for the resumption of the trilateral communication mechanism, both the ROK and Japan are part of the US' chip alliance, as well as regional security alliance network, both of which target China.