Relationships
Biden hosts ‘historic’ meeting with Japan and South Korea
US President Joe Biden is trying to form alliances in Asia. photo
© Jacquelyn Martin/AP/dpa
The US President repeatedly emphasizes the importance of an open and secure Indo-Pacific region. A tripartite summit should be understood primarily as a message to China and North Korea.
It is therefore the first “independent summit” between the USA, Japan and South Korea. It is also the first time Biden has used Camp David for a summit.
topics of the meeting
The meeting of the three allies is likely to be about North Korea’s repeated missile launches and China’s growing quest for power in the region. Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have recently increased significantly. The US and other countries are also concerned about China’s trade practices and Chinese expansionism in the Indo-Pacific. Indo-Pacific means a region from the Indian to the Pacific Ocean.
“This historic meeting demonstrates the importance of this relationship not only for our country but also for international security,” Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder said on Thursday. It is also a “message to the world and the region”. The aim is to deter “possible aggressors” and to ensure “stability and security” in the region and internationally. According to reports, the three countries are planning to set up a military hotline so that they can exchange information quickly in a crisis situation.
According to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the heads of state and government have the opportunity at the meeting to strengthen practical cooperation on a large number of common priorities – for example in the areas of security policy, the economy, global health or the development of new technologies. The neighbors South Korea and Japan are dependent on the nuclear protective umbrella of the USA to deter North Korea, among others.
Previously there had been reports that the United States wanted to develop modern missiles to intercept hypersonic missiles together with Japan. Hypersonic weapons, such as those developed by North Korea, but also by China and Russia, have so far been difficult to intercept because of their high speed and maneuverability.
Alliances in Asia
US President Biden’s administration is making great efforts to strengthen its alliances in Asia in view of the conflict over North Korea and the increasingly powerful China. Japan and South Korea are among the most important US allies in Asia. However, the two countries have a rather frosty relationship for historical reasons – but they have recently come closer and agreed on a new start in the difficult relationship. Korea was under Japanese colonial rule from 1910 to 1945. Many Koreans were taken to Japan for forced labor during World War II.
“The meeting is a crucial opportunity that cannot be missed,” wrote US expert Daniel Russel in a op-ed for the New York Times. In the interests of Asia’s long-term stability and security, Biden must ensure that leaders make it clear, stronger than ever, that they stand together. “This is a geopolitical imperative at a time when countries like China and Russia are contributing to the rise of illiberalism, economic coercion and attacks on key global norms.”