Warming South Korea-Japan ties sends chill through China over potential US pivot, analysts say

Name: Leaders of South Korea and Japan commit to stronger ties despite lingering historical disputes
Uploaded: 2023-05-09T01:00:17.000Z
Duration: 3 min 3 s
Description: Leaders of South Korea and Japan commit to stronger ties despite lingering historical disputes

The thaw between Seoul and Tokyo could hamper Beijing’s bilateral and trilateral ties with the countries, observer says

China is concerned that a new military alliance could emerge between Japan, South Korea and the United States

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Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his wife Yuko prepare to fly home from Seoul Air Base on Monday. Photo: Kyodo

Shi Jiangtao

Published: 9:00am, 9 May 2023Updated: 9:59am, 9 May 2023

Beijing voiced concerns about the prospect of resuming a trilateral summit with Tokyo and Seoul, following a joint call by leaders from Japan and South Korea to work with the United States to address growing security threats in Asia.

Diplomatic observers said Beijing’s response to the rapid improvements in South Korea’s ties with Japan underlined its growing concerns about an emerging military alliance between China’s two Asian neighbours and Washington.

“As close neighbours, China, Japan and South Korea should work together to maintain the political foundation of bilateral relations and commit to the stable, healthy and sustainable development of trilateral cooperation,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Monday.

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Leaders of South Korea and Japan commit to stronger ties despite lingering historical disputes

Chinese officials, including Beijing’s ambassador to Seoul Xing Haiming, expressed support in March for the resumption of the three-way leadership gathering, which had been suspended since December 2019 due to a dispute over compensation for Japan’s colonial use of Korean forced labour.

But in a sign of a thaw in their relations, long strained over history and territorial issues, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida wrapped up a two-day visit to Seoul on Monday, returning a trip South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol made to Tokyo in March.

Although China was barely mentioned on the trips, pundits said Beijing was increasingly wary of its two neighbours’ warming ties and their strategic pivot towards Washington.

Liu Jiangyong, an expert on regional affairs at Beijing’s Tsinghua University, said it remained to be seen how long the rapprochement between Japan and South Korea would last, but their close military and security ties with the US was deeply worrying.