Negative Duet against Japan

Chinese President, Xi Jinping, made determined effort to denounce Japan with President of South Korea, Park Geun-hye, in their summit meeting in Seoul on Thursday. They shared recognition that Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, had been unfairly promoting revisionist agenda and concern about acceleration to militarism. Unilateral diplomatic and security policies of Japan posed negative impact on international relations in East Asia.

The two leaders shied away from delivering joint criticisms against Japan in their press conference right after the meeting on Thursday. That was because they tried to emphasize their close relationship to put pressure on North Korea. But South Korean officials revealed that they exchanged their idea about Japan in the meeting and lunch on Friday.

On history issue, Xi and Park shared a notion that Abe was harming Kono Statement by reviewing the process of investigation, noting that the reviewing effort of Japanese government revealed hidden deals over expression in the statement between governments of South Korea and Japan. Denouncing Japan’s attitude as regretful, Xi and Park decided to cooperate with each other in joint project over “comfort woman” issue.

Picking up-to-date security dispute in Japan, they required transparency in Japan’s security policy, raising an argument that over a half of Japanese people were against exercising collective self-defense right and a number of countries had expressed concern over the policy. They also shared a concern on easing Japan’s sanctions against North Korea, in return with further investigation of missing Japanese in the North. They stressed importance of united action against the North to dismantle its nuclear and missile development.

Not satisfied with joint denouncement against Japan, Xi raised Japan’s old invasion to the peninsula in sixteenth century in his speech at Seoul University. “Militarist Japan made barbaric invasion to both China and South Korea,” or “We hated the same enemy and fought shoulder to shoulder,” was Xi’s message to the students in Seoul. It is unclear, however, whether Xi apologized on China’s invasion to the peninsula, in which Tang Dynasty destroyed Goguryeo in seventh century.

It is true that Abe has not diplomatic card against China-South Korea cooperation as long as he has no chance to have a dialogue with those leaders. But it is unlikely for their quasi-coalition against Japan to work for alienation in the Northeast Asian community. Exchanging harsh words is futile so far.