中韓首脳会談 鮮明になった「反日共闘」路線

The Yomiuri Shimbun March 25, 2014
China-South Korea summit clearly shows ‘united front against Japan’
中韓首脳会談　鮮明になった「反日共闘」路線（3月25日付・読売社説）

It seems fair to say that China and South Korea have demonstrated clearly their “united front against Japan” on history-related issues.
　中国と韓国が、歴史問題で「反日共闘」路線をますます鮮明にしてきたと言えよう。

Chinese President Xi Jinping and South Korean President Park Geun-hye met for talks in a suburb of The Hague where they highlighted the significance of a memorial hall dedicated to Korean independence activist Ahn Jung Geun in a train station in Harbin, China.
　中国の習近平国家主席と、韓国の朴槿恵大統領がオランダ・ハーグ郊外で会談し、中国黒竜江省のハルビン駅に開設した朝鮮独立運動家・安重根の記念館の意義を強調した。

According to South Korean officials, Xi told Park he had given “direct instructions” for building the hall, while Park responded that the hall would strengthen ties between the two peoples.
　韓国側によると、記念館開設について、習氏は「私が直接指示した」と語り、朴氏も「両国民の結び付きを強める」と応じた。

We believe that what Xi offered Park was a united front in taking a hard-line policy against Japan, a policy that has support of the South Korean people, in a bid to draw the attention of the Seoul government.
　習氏は、朴氏に対して、韓国民が支持する対日強硬路線で共闘を持ちかけて、韓国を引きつけようとしているのではないか。

Ahn Jung Geun assassinated Hirobumi Ito, Japan’s first prime minister. For Japan, the two nations’ praise for the opening of a hall dedicated to such a person is unacceptable.
　安重根は、初代首相の伊藤博文を暗殺した人物であり、記念館開設を称賛するのは、日本にとって受け入れ難い。

Xi appears to have sought to drive a wedge in cooperative ties among Japan, South Korea and the United States ahead of their tripartite summit scheduled for Tuesday on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit. The Xi-Park talks threw cold water on the much-anticipated summit, which comes against a backdrop of deteriorating Japan-South Korea relations—a summit made possible through U.S. mediation efforts.
　習氏には、２５日に予定される日米韓首脳会談をにらみ、３国連携にくさびを打ち込む狙いがあったに違いない。日韓関係が悪化する中で、米国の仲介努力によってようやく実現する日米韓首脳会談に冷や水を浴びせる形になった。

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga described the exchanges between Xi and Park and the praise Beijing and Seoul have expressed for Ahn as “founded on one-sided assessment” of history. He also pointed out quite reasonably that such public statements do not help to build peace and cooperation in the region.
　菅官房長官が、こうした中韓のやり取りを「一方的評価に基づく主張」と断じて、地域の平和と協力の構築にとってマイナスだと指摘したのも、もっともである。

A new anti-Japan symbol

During their talks, Xi also told Park of a “memorial stone” that China is constructing in Xian in Shaanxi Province, the city where a Korean anti-Japanese resistance force known as the “Korean Liberation Army” was based during the period of Japanese colonial rule. Park reportedly asked Xi to erect the memorial. Although there are few details about the resistance force, the memorial is certain to become a new symbol for anti-Japan sentiment.
　中韓首脳会談で習氏は、日本の植民地統治期に「光復軍」と呼ばれる朝鮮の抗日部隊が駐屯したという陝西省西安に石碑を建設中だと述べた。朴氏が要望したものだ。光復軍の実態は定かではないが、反日の新たな象徴となろう。

There is also cause for concern that Park has been keeping step with China. Although she has not yet held talks with Japanese leaders, Park has met with Xi four times since her inauguration. She probably thinks stronger relations with China are important for her country’s North Korea policy and economic cooperation.
　朴氏が、中国と足並みをそろえているのも気がかりだ。日本を差し置いて習氏とは何度も会談している。中国との関係強化が、対北朝鮮政策や、経済協力でも重要であると考えているのだろう。

In contrast, she has effectively rejected Japan-South Korea summit meetings by imposing conditions concerning so-called comfort women and other areas of contention.
　これと対照的に、日本に対しては、いわゆる従軍慰安婦問題などで条件を付けて、日韓首脳会談の開催を事実上拒んでいる。

It is quite clear that neither the Japan-U.S. alliance nor the U.S.-South Korean alliance—both partnerships in which United States is the keystone—will function effectively without good Japan-South Korean relations.
　良好な日韓関係なしには、米国を要とする日米及び米韓同盟が有効に機能しないのは明らかだ。

The prospect of further strengthening Seoul-Beijing ties over history issues is worrisome.
　歴史を巡る中韓連携は、今後さらに強まることが懸念される。

Late last month, a Chinese court for the first time accepted a lawsuit in which former Chinese workers who were forcibly brought to Japan to work in Japanese companies during World War II are demanding apologies and compensation from the companies. Similar lawsuits have been filed in South Korea by former forced laborers.
　中国の裁判所は先に、戦時中、強制連行された中国人元労働者らが日本企業を相手取り、謝罪と損害賠償を求めた訴状を初めて受理した。韓国でも元徴用工が同様の裁判を起こしている。

This type of suit threatens to undermine the foundation of pledges made by Japan and by the two nations upon the normalization of diplomatic relations, and cannot be accepted.
　いずれも、日本との国交正常化の際の約束を根底から揺るがす恐れがあり、容認できない。

It is important for Japan to make its case and demonstrate the legitimacy of its legal stance, not only to China and South Korea, but to the international community as a whole.
日本は、中韓両国だけでなく国際社会に対しても、法的な正当性を主張していくことが肝要である。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, March 25, 2014)
（2014年3月25日01時45分  読売新聞）