Proposal to establish a Korea - Japan - China security hotline

Speaking at the 6th Seoul Process Forum on Korea-Japan-China, organized by NEAR Foundation, a private organization specializing in Northeast Asia based in Seoul, former Ambassador Shin Kak Soo assessed that cooperation in the political and security fields between the three countries is still limited compared to areas such as economy, environment, culture and people-to-people exchange. The former Ambassador proposed that the three countries open security dialogue channels, as well as hotlines to reduce suspicion and prevent unintended conflicts. He also proposed opening communication channels between senior military leaders, with a foundation of retired generals as the first step. According to former Ambassador Shin Kok Soo, this should begin with confidence-building measures at different levels, depending on the progress achieved.

The Korea-Japan-China Seoul Process Forum brought together experts from all three Northeast Asian countries. This was the sixth time the forum was held since its launch in 2016 and also the first in-person meeting in four years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Themed “Roadmap to Sustainable Peace and Prosperity in Northeast Asia,” this year’s event focused on ways to strengthen cooperation by leveraging the momentum from the trilateral summit held in Seoul on May 27. While the summit failed to resolve differing positions on security issues, it signaled a revival of long-stalled dialogue between the three Asian neighbors after a four-and-a-half-year hiatus.

In the economic field, experts called for a quick launch of discussions to resume the second phase of negotiations on the Free Trade Agreement (FTA), as agreed at the summit on May 27.