China, Japan, South Korea "Restore" Relations at Trilateral Meet

China, Japan, and South Korea have agreed to resume regular trilateral meetings – and ramp up discussions for a trade pact between them – after the countries’ leaders held their first summit in more than three years in Seoul on Sunday. “The trilateral cooperation mechanism is back on track,” Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced at the summit with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and South Korean President Park Geun-hye. The three leaders reportedly agreed to move forward on trade negotiations, expand exchange programmes, and resume multi-party talks on North Korea's nuclear activities. The three Asian economic giants have been involved in various heated territorial and historical disputes in recent years, which have imposed a significant strain on diplomatic ties and threatened possible efforts for increased economic cooperation. In their remarks to reporters, the leaders did not address whether they had made any advances in some of the thornier issues between the three countries, such as the China-Japan dispute over the control of a group of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea, or South Korea and China's charge about Japan attempting to cover up atrocities from the Second World War. (See Bridges Weekly, 17 October 2012 ) Parallel negotiations At...