READOUT OF PRC-JAPAN-ROK TRILAT SUMMIT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIJING 002897 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/15/2024 TAGS: PREL PARM PGOV ECON MNUC SENV CH JA KN KS SUBJECT: READOUT OF PRC-JAPAN-ROK TRILAT SUMMIT Classified By: Political Regional Unit Chief Mark Lambert. Reason 1.4 (b) and (d). Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) The Second PRC-Japan-ROK trilateral summit held in Beijing on October 10 focused primarily on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and a pledge to work towards a successful Copenhagen climate change conference, according to our contacts at the Japanese and ROK embassies in Beijing. The trilat parties issued two joint statements: one pledging further cooperation in five broad fields, the second focusing on sustainable development with a particular focus on climate change. The three leaders pledged to support a successful conclusion of the Doha Development Round in 2010 but did not discuss concerns about RMB depreciation against the yen or the need to reform international financial institutions. The summit did not address nonproliferation beyond the Korean Peninsula. Japan was pleased that China agreed to meet in the "near future" to address the territorial dispute in the East China Sea. The ROK was satisfied with bilateral consultations with China regarding the future of the Six-Party Talk s. End Summary. Background -------------- ¶2. (U) On October 10, Premier Wen Jiabao hosted Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and ROK President Lee Myung-bak in Beijing for the second Trilateral Summit Meeting. Leaders of the three nations began meeting on the margins of the ASEAN plus 3 in 1999. On December 13, 2008, they held their first trilateral summit outside of ASEAN in Fukuoka, Japan. The Beijing meeting was the tenth meeting of the three, the second in a stand-alone forum. Leaders of the three countries plan to meet again in 2010 in Korea. In Fukuoka, then-PM Taro Aso, Wen Jiabao and Lee Myung-bak issued an action plan pledging to cooperate in a issue areas ranging from protecting migratory birds and enhancing trilateral maritime search and rescue cooperation to supporting UN reform, the Six-Party Talks and conducting a joint study on a trilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Two Statements -------------- ¶3. (U) According to Political Counselor at the Japanese Embassy in Beijing Tomohiro Mikanagi, the leaders met on October 10 in Beijing and issued two joint statements. The first, titled "Joint Statement on the Tenth Anniversary of �00A;Trilateral Cooperation among the People's Republic of China, Japan and the Republic of Korea," (now available on-line) flagged five areas of agreement: 1) A pledge to step up high-level contacts, respect each other's core interests and facilitate exchange among the defense personnel of the three countries; 2) A promise to deepen cooperation in business, trade, finance, investment, logistics, IPR, customs, science and technology, and energy to include a commitment to seek a successful conclusion of the Doha Development Round in 2010; 3) An expansion of people to people exchanges; 4) A pledge to support regional mechanisms that enhance peace and stability in Asia, including the ASEAN plus 3, East Asia Summit, ARF and APEC. The joint statement made a special reference to the need to continue to work through peaceful means to pursue the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the importance of the Six-Party Talks; 5) A promise to respond actively to global issues such as climate change, financial risks, energy security, public health, natural disaster, terrorism, arms control and UN reform. ¶4. (SBU) Mikanagi also explained that the Joint Statement on Sustainable Development among the People's Republic of China, Japan and the Republic of Korea was issued in order to highlight the need for international support for the Copenhagen Conference. The Sustainable Development statement pledged trilateral support for fighting pollution, promoting recycling and sustainable development, but Mikanagi emphasized that the pledge to work closely to make Copenhagen a success was the key part of the agreement. He said that PM BEIJING 00002897 002 OF 002 Hatoyama looked at the agreement as a reiteration of the pledge Hatoyama made at UNGA in New York. Mikanagi conceded that the agreement was a statement of "only very general principles." MFA Deputy Division Director for Japan Yang Shichao said the MFA viewed the statements as a blueprint for the trilateral relationship over the coming years. FTA --- ¶5. (SBU) Mikanagi said that Japan had hoped to be able to announce at the summit that a joint study begun in 2003 by the Development Research Center of the Chinese State Council (DRC),the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) and the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP) on a Trilateral FTA would have been passed to the three governments for more serious study. Instead, according to Mikanagi, due to concerns raised by the ROK that the report needed more academic study, the parties agreed only that business leaders, academics and the governments of the three countries would analyze the report. Mikanagi offered no time line of when that analysis would be finished. DPRK -------------- ¶6. (C) Both Japan's Mikanagi and Lee Heon, Counselor at the ROK Embassy in Beijing, told PolOff that there was a great deal of discussion at the meeting of a "Grand Bargain" to resolve the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue. Lee Heon said that Chinese MFA officials were keenly interested in President Lee's proposal that the other five parties offer a one-time package of aid and diplomatic concessions to North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in exchange for denuclearization. Counselor Lee said that ROK officials who met with Chinese counterparts in separate ROK-PRC bilateral meetings discussed DPRK strategies in-depth, but he offered PolOff no detailed analysis. Follow up Meetings -------------- ¶7. (C) Mikanagi said that Hatoyama and Wen agreed that the Chinese Premier would visit Japan sometime in 2010 and that Hatoyama would return to Beijing soon for a bilateral meeting. Japan and China agreed to establish a bilateral food safety board to address lingering concerns about Chinese agricultural exports to Japan. Mikanagi also said that in bilateral meetings between the Japanese and Chinese, much time was devoted to discussing the territorial dispute in the East China Sea and disagreements over exploiting energy deposits there. Mikanagi said that some progress had been made on the issue and the GOJ was pleased that Wen agreed to hold experts meetings "in the near future." Mikanagi said that Chinese officials had told the Japanese that they could not move faster on the matter due to "domestic public opinion." What they Did Not Discuss -------------- ¶8. (C) According to our Japanese and ROK contacts, there was no discussion of the Nonproliferation Treaty Review Conference or of China ratifying the CTBT. Other than a general overview of regional architecture, there was no detailed discussion about the East Asian Community or other regional groupings. Despite agreeing in Fukuoka to explore joint maritime search and rescue cooperation, the topic was not discussed in Beijing. MFA's views -------------- ¶9. (C) Yang told EconOff the MFA wanted the PRC-Japan-ROK relationship to be a "comprehensive partnership in a future-oriented-looking manner." He said the relationship had seen both big accomplishments and minor setbacks. Respecting common interests, openness, and transparency were the key to a successful trilateral relationship, he said. PRC-Japan-ROK relations should not be based on excluding other countries but rather should encourage diversity, according to Yang. HUNTSMAN