2015年CRI Three-way Meeting Expected to Help Ease Tensions in E.Asia

 

Chinese Premier¹ Li Keqiang, South Korean President Park Geun-Hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will sit down together on Sunday for their first trilateral meeting since May of 2012.

Historical and territorial² issues among the three countries have kept them from coming together until this weekend.

While those issues are still there, Jeff Kingston, director of Asian studies at Temple University in Japan, says the resumption of the trilateral summit could be a signal those tensions may be easing somewhat.

"I think we've had this really long hiatus in regional dialogue and communication principally because of differences over history and also to some extent over overlapping³ territorial claims. But I think it's a recognition by the leaders of all three countries that the relationship is far too important to hold hostage to history, to some rocky islets in the middle of the ocean."

As leading players in Asia, China, Japan and South Korea make up around 70-percent of all economic output in Asia, and represent 20-percent in the world economy.

Professor Lv Yaodong with the Japanese Studies Institute at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences says its this regional clout⁴ that should be the focus of this weekend's sessions.

"The purpose of this summit should be to find more common ground among the three nations rather than sorting out their disputes. They can collaborate⁵ with each other on issues such as environmental protection and reducing greenhouse gas emissions⁶. The three also need to prioritize regional peace and stability ahead of bilateral⁷ relations."

Although this is a trilateral session, one of the big political events will take place when South Korean President Park Geun-hye sits down for a one-on-one meeting with Shinzo Abe.

It will be their first bilateral talks since Park took over as President.

She's refused to sit down with him directly since she took office in early 2013 because of comment's he's previously⁸ made connected to the contentious⁹ issue of "comfort women."

These were sexual slaves used by Japanese troops during World War II.

Professor Park Ihn-hwi with Ewha Woman's University in South Korea says that sit-down will be important for both sides.

"The historical issues have to be worked from a long-term perspective. There seems to be a basic premises¹⁰ for an improvement of South Korea-Japan relations. The the two countries should continue to maintain ties under the theory they cooperate best economically in profitable areas, including trade."

The meetings this weekend will are expected to discuss the potential creation of a trilateral Free Trade Agreement.

Those talks were first launched in early 2013.

However, they've so far made little headway, with concerns among China, South Korea and Japan said to be high in areas such as agricultural and technological¹¹ imports.

For CRI, I am Wang Mengzhen.

1 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

2 territorial   

adj.领土的，领地的

参考例句：

• The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
• They were not allowed to fish in our territorial waters.不允许他们在我国领海捕鱼。

3 overlapping   

adj./n.交迭（的）

参考例句：

• There is no overlapping question between the two courses. 这两门课程之间不存在重叠的问题。
• A trimetrogon strip is composed of three rows of overlapping. 三镜头摄影航线为三排重迭的象片所组成。

4 clout   

n.用手猛击；权力，影响力

参考例句：

• The queen may have privilege but she has no real political clout.女王有特权，但无真正的政治影响力。
• He gave the little boy a clout on the head.他在那小男孩的头部打了一下。

5 collaborate   

vi.协作，合作；协调

参考例句：

• The work gets done more quickly when we collaborate.我们一旦合作，工作做起来就更快了。
• I would ask you to collaborate with us in this work.我们愿意请你们在这项工作中和我们合作。

6 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

7 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

8 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

9 contentious   

adj.好辩的，善争吵的

参考例句：

• She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
• Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起，他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。

10 premises   

n.建筑物，房屋

参考例句：

• According to the rules,no alcohol can be consumed on the premises.按照规定，场内不准饮酒。
• All repairs are done on the premises and not put out.全部修缮都在家里进行，不用送到外面去做。

11 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。