The meeting was said to have been cancelled 'due to difficulties in the adjustment of ministers' schedules'. -- PHOTO: AFP
TOKYO - A MEETING scheduled this week between the economic ministers of Japan, China and South Korea in Hanoi has been cancelled, a Tokyo trade ministry official confirmed on Thursday.
The three-way talks had been slated to take place on the sidelines of a summit of the 10-nation Association of South-east Asian Nations on Friday and the wider 16-nation East Asia Summit Saturday, which includes China.
The cancellation could cloud prospects for a bilateral meeting between Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan and his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao in Hanoi amid a bitter territorial dispute between the two sides.
The Japanese official said the three-way meeting was cancelled 'due to difficulties in the adjustment of ministers' schedules'.
Kyodo News, citing Japanese government sources, reported that China cancelled the talks due to a spat over its export restrictions on rare earth minerals, which are used in the manufacture of high-tech goods.
Beijing and Tokyo have been locked in their worst row in years after Japan arrested a Chinese trawler captain on September 8 near a disputed island chain in the East China Sea. -- AFP
