JEJUDO ISLAND -- Despite persistent territorial and historical tension, Korea, China and Japan are committed to deepening three-way cooperation and carrying on with their plans to hold regular summits, the chief of the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat said. 

Shortly after taking office last August, Yang Houlan observed the three nations’ first tripartite summit about two months later, for which the agency played a key facilitating role.

The sides are now currently in talks to arrange their next summit for this year in Japan, while following up on plans for new consultative mechanisms, such as an education ministers’ meeting and a public diplomacy forum, introduced during last year’s session.

“In the past, to be frank, historical issues caused ups and downs to the relationship between the three countries. However, I can feel the progress on this issue after the sixth summit meeting (last year) as the three parties interact with each other based on the following spirit specified on the joint declaration,” Yang said in an interview with The Korea Herald during the Jeju Forum.

“In the spirit of facing history squarely and advancing toward the future, we agreed that the three countries should address related issues properly and work together to improve bilateral relations and strengthen trilateral cooperation.”

Yang, a career diplomat who previously served as ambassador for Korean Peninsula affairs at Beijing’s Foreign Ministry and at the Chinese Embassy in Seoul, said his term started at a “promising moment.”

Now the three nations are engaged in more than 20 ministerial-level mechanisms and some 50 intergovernmental consultative bodies, he noted.

The Seoul-based secretariat was set up in May 2011 to promote three-way dialogue and exchanges, cooperative projects and joint studies.

Given the three parties’ differing views on territorial, historical and other issues, the secretary-general stressed the significance of the TCS’ public diplomacy role in solidifying a “social basis” for trilateral collaboration and ultimately political trust.

“We observed that the mutual exchanges between the peoples of the three countries gradually increased even in the midst of political difficulties,” Yang said.

“The TCS should increase public understanding of the trilateral cooperation through various forums and channels to involve wider public participation in the cause of promoting trilateral cooperation.”

As a young regional cooperation organization, the secretariat should take a page from the experiences of other regional and international entities in fostering regional integration, he emphasized.

“We should continue to strengthen our capacity building, provide practical recommendations to the three governments and gradually develop ourselves into a ‘policy-oriented’ organization,” Yang added.

By Shin Hyon-hee (heeshin@heraldcorp.com)