Japanese, US, and South Korean top diplomats expressed their concerns over China's test launch of a long-range ballistic missile earlier this week.
Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, along with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, held a trilateral meeting on the sidelines of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Summit in Ankara, Turkey.
Reported by ANTARA from Kyodo-OANA, Wednesday, July 8, the meeting discussed a number of regional issues, including efforts to unilaterally change the status quo through violence or intimidation. The three also reaffirmed the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
The Japanese Foreign Ministry did not mention any discussion about China directly in its official statement, but said the meeting between the three ministers also discussed a number of issues related to North Korea.
One of them concerns the need to eradicate "dangerous" cyber activities carried out by North Korea to fund its nuclear and missile programs.
The trilateral meeting also included discussions related to the cooperation of the three countries in the field of economic security.
In addition, Motegi, Rubio, and Cho signed an agreement on the establishment of a trilateral cooperation framework to promote the deployment of small modular reactors (SMRs) in other countries.
According to the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the initiative aims to ensure the implementation of the best standards in nuclear safety and non-proliferation efforts. In the initial phase of implementation, the initiative will focus on energy resilience in the Indo-Pacific region.
Before holding the trilateral meeting which lasted for about 30 minutes, Motegi reportedly held separate bilateral talks with Rubio and Cho.
After the meeting, Motegi confirmed to Japanese media that he wanted to continue to maintain close cooperation with his partners regarding issues in the Indo-Pacific region.
The missile test by the Chinese Navy on Monday (6/7) has sparked criticism from Australia, Japan, and a number of other countries. The missile launched from a Chinese nuclear submarine carried a dummy warhead and "landed right in the designated waters".
The United States said "the rapid and non-transparent accumulation of China's nuclear weapons is a major concern for the region and the world."
The United States believes that the unarmed projectile that fell in the waters of the South Pacific after the launch test on Monday (6/7) is an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) with nuclear capabilities.
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