Joe Biden to Deepen Ties with South Korea and Japan

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If I seem like I'm happy, it's because I am. This has been a great, great meeting. That cheerfulness from U.S. President Joe Biden came after he and the leaders of South Korea and Japan agreed to deepen military and economic ties. And the countries made their strongest joint condemnation yet of aggressive behavior by China in the South China Sea. The new commitments were formed Friday at Camp David, the Maryland presidential retreat.


Historic Summit and Commitments

Today we've made history with the first ever stand-alone summit between the leaders of our three countries, as well as our commitment to meet together on the leader level annually. At a joint news conference, Biden, along with South Korean President Yoon Sik-yul and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, committed to consult promptly with each other during crises and to coordinate responses. We're doubling down on information sharing, including on the DPRK's missile launches and cyber activities, strengthening our ballistic missile defense cooperation. And critically, 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. While the political commitments fall short of a formal three-way alliance, they represent a bold move for Seoul and Tokyo, which have lingering baggage stemming from Japan's harsh 1910 to 1945 colonial rule of Korea. But on Friday, it was handshakes and smiles. The leader's language on China stood out as stronger than expected.

Strong Stand against China

A joint statement read, quote, regarding the dangerous and aggressive behavior supporting unlawful maritime claims that we have recently witnessed by the People's Republic of China in the South China Sea, we strongly oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the waters of the Indo-Pacific. Without mentioning China by name, Kishida had this to say. The unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force in the East and South China Seas are continuing. And the nuclear and missile threats of North Korea are only becoming ever larger under such circumstances. Not to say we don't share concerns about the economic coercion or heightened tensions caused by China, but this summit was really about our relationship with each other. Beijing has warned that U.S. efforts to strengthen ties with South Korea and Japan could increase tension and confrontation in the region.


Location: London, UK

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