(May 19): Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung vowed to boost their partnership at a meeting amid increasing geopolitical uncertainty set off by the war in Iran and shifting dynamics between the US and China.
“South Korea-Japan relationship is advancing breathlessly toward the future, without a single day of pause,” Lee said at the start of a summit in his hometown of Andong, South Korea on Tuesday. “Now more than ever, partner nations need cooperation and communication,” he said, citing growing turbulence in the global landscape.
As neighbours that are reliant on the Middle East for oil, dependent on the US for security, and share common security concerns over an increasingly assertive China and North Korea, the two leaders have much in common despite historical antagonism between the two nations.
“I believe it is very important for the two countries to play a pivotal role in stabilising the Indo-Pacific region by steadily developing the relationship between Japan and South Korea,” Takaichi said, before the two leaders delved into deeper discussions.
Supply chain resilience and oil reserves will likely be part of the talks, according to a Japanese foreign ministry official. Takaichi and Lee are set to agree on a cooperative structure that would include joint storage of crude oil supplies, according to a Nikkei report. The two leaders will push for a dialogue to consider better sharing of oil products and will seek to establish a forum for discussion on industrial and trade policies, according to a separate report from the Yomiuri newspaper.
The meeting marks the third time Takaichi and Lee meet for official summit talks and the fourth time overall, and follows a visit in January to Takaichi’s constituency of Nara where they put on a show of friendship by playing the drums together. Seoul described that as the first exchange of visits between the hometown regions of South Korean and Japanese leaders.
See also: Putin aims to unlock gas pipeline project to China in Xi talks
This time, Takaichi is visiting Lee’s hometown region of Andong in North Gyeongsang Province, a city known for culture and folk traditions.
The visit is also a continuation of so-called “shuttle diplomacy”, a loose agreement between the two Asian nations to regularly make visits and maintain friendly ties. Historical issues stemming from Japan’s annexation of the Korean peninsula have long marred relations between the two nations — also raising questions over how Takaichi, who was outspoken about her right-wing views as a lawmaker, and Lee, who was fiercely critical of Japan’s annexation before taking the top post, would get along.
For now, they appear to have set aside their differences to focus on overcoming common challenges.
See also: Trump says holding off on new Iran strikes after Gulf appeal
In March this year, Japan and South Korea issued a factsheet on supply chain cooperation spanning critical minerals and energy supplies such as LNG.
The meeting comes days after US President Donald Trump and China’s leader Xi Jinping met in Beijing, in a summit that highlighted the broader shifting dynamics of the region.
While the security alliance between Japan and the US has formed a bulwark against China — and the US has cooperated with South Korea in countering North Korea’s nuclear programme — a closeness between Trump and Xi may raise concerns over how willing the US would be to engage if there’s an altercation in the region.
Uploaded by Chng Shear Lane
