President Joe Biden announced plans for annual leader-level meetings with Japan and South Korea as well as a new hotline for the allies to swiftly share intelligence as he met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol at Camp David.
“We met in this historic place to meet a historic moment,” said Biden at a joint press conference on Friday. “America’s commitment to both countries is ironclad. And my personal commitment to bringing these three nations together was real from the very beginning.”
Biden said the countries were also launching annual, multi-domain military exercises that would take their trilateral defense cooperation to unprecedented levels. The allies will also increase information sharing on North Korean missile launches and cyber activities.
But the push to strengthen the partnership between the three industrialized democracies comes as former President Donald Trump has emerged as the frontrunner to challenge Biden, casting doubt on the long-term prospects of any unity efforts. Trump has vowed to undo many of Biden’s policies if he is returned to the White House, and his administration was marked by unprecedented engagement with the leaders of North Korea and China.
Recent polls have shown Biden and his predecessor virtually deadlocked in a hypothetical rematch of their bitterly contested 2020 contest. Asked if Trump would rip up the agreements if he wins the 2024 election, Biden sought to assure Japan and South Korea of the US commitment to their defense.
“There’s not much, if anything, I agree on with my predecessor on foreign policy,” Biden said. “His America First policy walking away from the rest of the world has made us weaker, not stronger.”
Biden said the steps would help all three countries as they confront mutual threats, including Chinese aggression in the Asia-Pacific and North Korea’s nuclear program.
“What makes today different is it actually launches a series of initiatives that are actually institutional changes in how we deal with one another,” he added. “I think we’re going to keep it going and I think we’re going to benefit all of our countries.”
The commitments announced Friday stop short of a NATO-style mutual defense agreement, but nonetheless demonstrate the rapidly thawing ties between Tokyo and Seoul.
Concerns over North Korea’s growing missile arsenal and China’s actions in the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait have helped Japan and South Korea overcome decades of tensions stemming from the former’s colonial rule of the latter in the early 20th century.
The US, Japan and South Korea are releasing a joint statement reaffirming their support for stability in the Taiwan Strait amid Chinese vows to change the self-governing island’s status.
--With assistance from Hadriana Lowenkron.