By Takuya Karube,
The leaders of Japan, the United States and South Korea agreed Friday on a commitment to consult with each other swiftly to coordinate their responses to "provocations" and "threats," amid China's increasingly aggressive actions and North Korea's escalating belligerence.
Leveraging the benefits of the recent rapprochement between Japan and South Korea, the leaders declared a "new chapter" in their trilateral relationship at the U.S. presidential retreat of Camp David near Washington.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, U.S. President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol agreed on a number of initiatives to make their framework for cooperation more durable and better able to deal with events affecting their collective interests and security.
Their joint statement, named the Spirit of Camp David, also touched on China's "dangerous and aggressive behavior" in regional waters, although officials involved in the drafting process had said earlier that South Korea expressed reservations about explicitly criticizing Beijing.
According to Japanese officials, this is the first time the three countries have referred to China by name in a joint leaders' statement.
"We strongly oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the waters of the Indo-Pacific," the document said, noting that the three countries are particularly against the militarization of reclaimed features in the South China Sea, the risky use of coast guard and maritime militia vessels and coercive activities.
The initiatives also include holding a trilateral summit at least once a year along with various other meetings of top officials, carrying out multi-domain joint defense drills on a regular basis, launching an early warning mechanism for supply chain disruptions for key industrial items, and working closely on emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence.
The steps are intended to cement the progress the United States and its two key Asian allies have made in recent months and embed their framework into the architecture of the Indo-Pacific region, the officials said.
Biden said Japan and South Korea are "capable and indispensable" allies during a press conference after wrapping up the summit, in which he said they agreed to bring trilateral defense cooperation to "unprecedented levels."
"This is not about a day, a week or month," he said. "This is about decades and decades of relationships that we're building."
Kishida said their "relationship of trust and confidence" has further deepened through the discussions and the principles agreed will be a "new compass" for trilateral cooperation.
Yoon said Camp David will be remembered as a "historic place" where they proclaimed their aim to "bolster the rules-based international order and play key roles to enhance regional security and prosperity based on our shared values of freedom, human rights, and rule of law."
An implicit but essential message is that the widening cooperation is now designed to be sustained regardless of any change of government among them or political upheavals, according to the officials.
Biden has prioritized underlining the U.S. presence in the region as it engages in intensifying strategic competition with China.
His administration has recognized that stronger bilateral alliances with Japan and South Korea, which have taken steps to restore relations with each other after sharp disagreements over wartime issues, and closer cooperation among the three are indispensable to achieve that end.
China has already reacted sharply to the trilateral summit, but Biden insisted it was "not about China."
"That was not the purpose of the meeting," he said, but added, "Not to say we don't share concerns about the economic coercion, or heightened tensions" caused by Beijing.
Biden, who is running for re-election in 2024, chose the secluded presidential retreat as the venue in order to have frank discussions.
It is the first time since 2015 for foreign leaders to be welcomed to the retreat, which has served every U.S. president since World War II and is known as the site of some of the most important moments in U.S. diplomacy.
Japan, the United States and South Korea first held a trilateral summit in 1994. In addition, more than 10 similar occasions have been held on the fringes of larger multilateral gatherings.
In addition to the joint statement, they released two different documents with one outlining the principles of their cooperation to chart a medium- and long-term direction and the other focusing solely on the importance of trilateral consultation in the event of special circumstances.
The document, titled "Commitment to Consult" and only two paragraphs in length, made it clear that it does not "supersede or otherwise infringe" on the obligations arising from long-standing bilateral security treaties that the United States has with Japan and South Korea.
As the three countries are not seeking a trilateral security alliance, it also said this commitment is "not intended to give rise to rights or obligations under international or domestic law."
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