Japan, China, S. Korea vow to cooperate to fight credit crisis

FUKUOKA, Dec. 13 Kyodo - The top leaders of Japan, China and South Korea agreed Saturday on the need to
enhance joint cooperation to effectively respond to ''serious challenges'' in
global financial markets as well as to address the denuclearization of North
Korea and other issues.
At a one-day summit held in Dazaifu, Fukuoka Prefecture, the leaders signed
three statements on the tripartite partnership, international finance and the
economy, and disaster management cooperation, Japanese government officials
said.
Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and South Korean
President Lee Myung Bak also agreed on an ''action plan'' calling for
trilateral cooperation in about 30 areas including environmental protection and
human exchanges.
''It is the first time historically for the three countries to hold an
independent summit,'' although the three countries have held trilateral
meetings on the sidelines of international conferences, Aso said in a joint
news conference.
''It is epoch-making progress for the leaders of the three countries to hold
meetings regularly and strengthen ties, greatly contributing to the stability
and prosperity of Asia and the world,'' Aso said.
On measures to overcome the financial crisis, the central banks of the three
economies expanded their currency swap deals to support South Korea, which has
seen its currency plunge against major currencies amid the worldwide credit
crunch.
The three countries also reiterated their commitment to work with the 10-member
Association of Southeast Asian Nations and to upgrade the Chiang Mai
Initiative, a regional currency swap network to forestall a financial crisis.
While Aso hailed the significance of the trilateral meeting, critics said the
leaders fell short of offering substantive proposals. ''As much as the three
leaders agreed on the severity of the economic crisis, what they agreed lacked
specifics and is without a punch,'' an analyst with a private-sector think tank
said.
Critics said that the expanded current swap agreement for South Korea, leaked
to the media a few days earlier, was already anticipated. Japan and South Korea
also made no progress in breaking the deadlock to jump-start talks on a free
trade agreement, they said.
On denuclearizing North Korea, the three leaders agreed to step up cooperation
on achieving the goal of documenting ways to verify Pyongyang's nuclear
programs. The leaders criticized the North for not cooperating in this regard
at the latest round of the six-party talks which ended Thursday in Beijing
without any substantial achievement.
Aso called for the two countries' cooperation on the issue of North Korea's
past abductions of Japanese nationals, while Wen and Lee said they support and
understand Japan's efforts.
In their joint statement on the tripartite partnership, the leaders pledged to
further promote trilateral cooperation on enhancing mutual political trust,
increasing trade and economic contacts, expanding social and cultural exchanges
and strengthening financial cooperation.
The three countries agreed to hold the second trilateral summit in China next
year and the third in South Korea in a bid to promote trilateral ties and to
establish dialogue among the three.
''We gathered here to help lay a solid foundation in promoting our tripartite
cooperation in the years to come, building upon progress to date,'' the
statement said.
On environmental issues, Aso referred to problems such as yellow dust and
atmospheric pollution and said it is important for the three countries to
promote cooperation on such issues.
Wen and Lee agreed with Aso and said the three countries need to deepen
discussions on worsening environmental conditions.
Ahead of the trilateral summit in the afternoon, Aso met separately with Lee
and Wen to strengthen bilateral relations and agreed to step up cooperation to
overcome the financial crisis.
On the issue of North Korea, Aso and Lee agreed to cooperate closely to achieve
progress at the six-party talks on denuclearizing the North, while Aso
expressed hope for China's role as chair of the talks.
During a bilateral meeting with Wen, Aso lodged a protest over the intrusion by
two Chinese survey ships into Japanese waters near the disputed Senkaku
islands, saying the incident was ''truly regrettable.''
Two Chinese survey ships entered Japanese territorial waters in the East China
Sea on Monday, reigniting tension between Beijing and Tokyo over the disputed
islands in the area and prompting a strong protest from Tokyo.
Japan's relations with the two neighbors have often been chilled due to
differences in their historical perceptions and territorial disputes.
Japan-South Korea relations deteriorated in July when Japan referred to two
uninhibited islets in the Sea of Japan between the two countries in a teaching
guideline, drawing strong protests from South Korea, which controls the islets
also claimed by Japan.
Japan's relationship with the two countries also deteriorated during the
2001-2006 tenure of Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi because of his
repeated visits to Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, which is seen by the two countries
as a symbol of Japan's militaristic past.
The three countries agreed in November last year to hold trilateral meetings in
their countries in rotation. The first such meeting was to be held in September
in Japan but was postponed due to the abrupt resignation of Aso's predecessor
Yasuo Fukuda.
==Kyodo
2008-12-13 21:31:04