U.S. President Joe Biden and the leaders of South Korea and Japan agreed at Camp David to deepen military and economic cooperation and made their strongest joint condemnation yet of “dangerous and aggressive behaviour” by China in the South China Sea.
The Biden administration held the summit with the leaders of the main U.S. allies in Asia, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, in a bid to project unity in the face of China’s growing power and nuclear threats from North Korea, according to Reuters.
In a summit statement, the three countries committed to consult promptly with each other during crises and to coordinate responses to regional challenges, provocations and threats affecting common interests.
The summit at the Maryland presidential retreat was the first standalone meeting between the U.S. and Japan and South Korea and came about thanks to a rapprochement launched by Yoon and driven by shared perceptions of threats posed by China and North Korea, as well as Russia after its invasion of Ukraine.
Biden praised the leaders for their political courage in pursuing a rapprochement. He said they understood the world was “at an inflexion point, where we’re called to lead in new ways, to work together, to stand together.”
“Critically, we’ve all committed to swiftly consult with each other in response to threats to any one of our countries from whatever source it occurs,” he said. “That means we’ll have a hotline to share information and coordinate our responses whenever there is a crisis in the region, or affecting any one of our countries.”
“Together we’re going to stand up for international law,” and against “coercion,” Biden said.
Without mentioning China by name, Kishida said, “Unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force in the East and South China Seas are continuing,” while adding that the North Korean nuclear and missile threat was “only becoming ever larger.”
Yoon said the summit agreement meant that “any provocations or attacks against any one of our three countries will trigger a decision-making process of this trilateral framework and our solidarity will become even stronger and harder.”
Beijing previously warned that U.S. efforts to strengthen ties with South Korea and Japan could “increase tension and confrontation in the region.
While South Korea, Japan and the United States want to avoid provoking Beijing, China believes Washington is trying to isolate it diplomatically and encircle it militarily.
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