Friday’s summit between the United States, Japan and South Korea marks the beginning of “a new era of trilateral cooperation” aimed at “increasing security” in the Indo-Pacific, US President Joe Biden said.
The US head of state spoke with his South Korean counterpart, Yoon Suk Yeol, and Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, at Camp David, the presidential field residence in Maryland, at the start of the first summit.
“I can’t think of a better way to start a new chapter in our trilateral cooperation. Strengthening the ties between our democracies has long been a priority of mine, ever since I was Vice President.”said Biden.
The US president stressed that, more than the first summit with the South Korean and Japanese leaders in his mandate, this is the first exclusive conclave of three leaders of the three nations.
The meeting, he added, ushers in a “new era of collaboration” and renews a common interest: “To be a force for good in the Indo-Pacific and, frankly, around the world as well.”
“This is a belief that the three of us share”said Biden, ahead of the tripartite meeting and after a separate meeting with the two Asian leaders.
For the South Korean leader, the three countries must strengthen their solidarity “to ensure that their freedoms are not threatened or compromised”.
“Stronger coordination between Korea, the United States and Japan requires a stronger institutional foundation. In addition, we must address the challenges that threaten regional security with a stronger commitment to working together.”said Yoon.
The Japanese Prime Minister agreed with his colleagues: “The fact that the three leaders came together like this means, I think, that we are making history.”
“I would like to broaden and deepen our collaboration in broad areas, including economic security, collaboration on critical emerging technologies, or global supply chain resilience”Kishida said.
The three leaders expressed an interest in “institutionalizing” the tripartite cooperation so that it does not depend on the fluctuations in each country’s internal politics, and they want these types of meetings to be held annually.
The meeting at Camp David will culminate in a press conference and will include the creation of a “hotline” to streamline communications in the event of a crisis with North Korea or China.
The United States, Japan and South Korea will enter into a trilateral security commitment, which provides for consultations in the event of a crisis or threat in the Pacific, according to US government sources quoted by international agencies on Friday.
The new “duty of consultation,” the same sources said, will be announced by US President Joe Biden.
The “duty to consult” aims to recognize that the three countries share “fundamentally interconnected security environments” and that a threat to one nation is “a threat to all,” a senior Biden administration official told the AP, who spoke anonymously. spoke.
According to the same source, the three countries agree to consult, share information and coordinate their messages in the event of a threat or crisis.
The United States of America (US) has deployed more than 80,000 troops to the two Asian countries.
The agreement is part of a series of joint initiatives to be announced, as part of closer economic and security ties promoted by the US administration in a context of shared concern about North Korea’s nuclear threats and China’s ambitions in the North Sea. the South Pacific.
Before it even started, the summit faced sharp public criticism from the Chinese government.
“The international community has its own judgment on who creates contradictions and intensifies tensions”China’s foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said Friday.
“Attempts to form various groups and small exclusive clubs and bring the bloc confrontation to the Asia-Pacific region are unpopular and are sure to arouse criticism and opposition in the countries of the region”Wang said.
Source: DN
