Seoul, Tokyo, Washington form trilateral security forum

Posted on : 2012-07-13 13:53 KST Modified on : 2012-07-13 13:53 KST
Officials say working group is not aimed at cooperating to curb China’s growing influence in the region

By Park Byong-su, staff reporter in Phnom Penh
The foreign ministers of South Korea, the US, and Japan stressed the need to develop their cooperation for the peace, prosperity, and stability of the Asia-Pacific region. The remarks came in a joint statement issued after July 12 talks at the US-ASEAN ministerial meeting.
The ministers also said they had agreed to establish a working group in Washington to help the cooperation proceed smoothly.
At talks between their foreign and defense ministers in June, South Korea and the US agreed to strengthen their mechanisms for national security cooperation with Japan. A government official cautioned against reading the decision as a sign of increased national security cooperation aimed at curbing the Chinese threat.
“This is not a permanent organization,” the official said. “It is, quite literally, a working group, where ministerial-level officials will discuss major issues about once every quarter, and it will not raise the Northeast Asian security situation as an agenda item.”
But this is the first time the three countries have decided to establish a working group for cooperation on a wide range of issues, including security.
A senior South Korean official said, “This working group is to discuss current issues, such as peacekeeping, disaster relief and development cooperation in the level of deputy manager. It is not expected to handle security.”
Given that the agreement comes while Washington is pushing ahead with a strategy of checking or encircling China, some observers say it may be a stepping-stone toward strategic trilateral security cooperation in the future.
The ministers also called for an end to North Korea’s nuclear program, ballistic missile activity, and general provocations.
In reference to a territorial dispute in the South China Sea, they said they supported ASEAN and China’s efforts to ensure headway with a code of conduct based in international law, the spirit of ASEAN and China’s Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea.
 
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