Japan, South Korea take different approaches to China relations

Japan and South Korea displayed different approaches to handling their relationships with China when they hosted the United States’ top diplomat and defence chief last week, with Tokyo adopting a harder stance to Beijing and Seoul working to avoid being caught up in a power struggle.

The assessments were made as Tokyo and Seoul wrapped up their meetings with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin. Blinken then went on to meet Chinese diplomats Yang Jiechi and Wang Yi in Alaska, where the two sides clashed on hot-button issues like Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Tokyo and Washington hit out at Beijing in a joint statement on Tuesday, saying China’s behaviour was inconsistent with the existing international order and that its recently passed coastguard law was a “disruptive development” in the region. They said their defence alliance covered the East China Sea, where China and Japan have been in a long-running dispute over the Diaoyu Islands.

The US and Japan also objected to China’s “unlawful” maritime claims in the South China Sea and underscored the importance of stability in the Taiwan Strait – an issue Beijing has said is a red line issue. The two sides also discussed Xinjiang and Hong Kong, which China has said are internal affairs.