Foreign ministers from Asian and European countries were scheduled to start their two-day annual talks yesterday evening in Japan's western Kyoto prefecture on issues such as North Korea's nuclear program and Myanmar's human rights record.
Meetings between Japanese and Chinese foreign ministers, as well as between Japanese and South Korean foreign ministers on the sidelines of the Asia-Europe meeting (ASEM) are also expected to address recent anti-Japan sentiment over handling of its war history.
According to Japanese government officials, the ASEM meeting was to start yesterday evening with the first round of full sessions in which participants are expected to discuss political issues, including how best to reform the UN, prevention of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and North Korea.
PHOTO: AFP
Representatives from the 10 members from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Japan, China, South Korea and the 25 EU members as well as the European Commission will join the ASEM talks. Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura will chair the meeting.
Ahead of the ASEM meeting, South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon and Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing met at a Kyoto hotel yesterday and agreed to try to resume six-nation talks as soon as possible and peacefully resolve North Korea's nuclear program.
The six-way talks involve China, Japan, North and South Korea, the US and Russia with the last meeting ending in June of last year unsuccessfully.
Tensions have risen following Sunday's testing of a short-range missile into the Sea of Japan by North Korea. In February, Pyongyang admitted it had nuclear weapons and would no longer participate in talks on the subject.
China and South Korea have urged North Korea not to do anything that would further isolate itself during reports of preparations for an underground nuclear test.
"The ministers said any moves by North Korea that deteriorate the situation further would not help and only further isolate itself," South Korean official Park Joon-woo said.
Meanwhile, EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner is expected to meet with Myanmar's foreign minister, Nyan Win, on the sidelines of the ASEM meeting.
Myanmar joined ASEM last year at a meeting in Vietnam.
The EU official is expected to raise concerns about the Southeast Asian military junta's human rights record and detention of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi during the EU-Myanmar talks.
EU foreign ministers last month renewed sanctions for a year against Myanmar, including restricting travel by its officials and preventing investment in the country.
Today, Japanese foreign minister Machimura will meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing to discuss how best to improve bilateral relations following anti-Japan rallies in China last month.
Demonstrators in China accused Japan of trying to glorify its wartime history and said they were opposed to Japan's bid for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.
Machimura's talks with Li will follow Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao (
Machimura and Li are expected to take up a plan to jointly study bilateral history to bridge the gap over historical interpretations.
ASEM was created in 1996 with the aim of expanding Asian and European ties in a forum without the US.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
RSS