The U.S. decided to join Japan and South Korea in establishing a new three-way hotline. The three-nation leaders-Joe Biden, Fumio Kishida, and Yoon Suk Yeol-will all meet at the Camp David presidential retreat near Washington on Aug. 18.
US Joins Japan, South Korea in Establishing Three-Way Hotline
US President Joe Biden (C) speaks during a trilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit during the 40th and 41st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summits.
According to Nikkei Asia's latest report, Biden, Kishida, and Suk Seol will hold their first trilateral summit outside a wider international gathering since 1994.
Indo-Pacific affairs coordinator at the White House's National Security Council, Kurt Campbell, said that the U.S. will invest in technology to have a three-way hotline for ally leaders and other government officials.
"We are going to make commitments to dialogue and engage in critical circumstances," added the official.
Campbell further stated that the U.S., together with SoKor and Japan, will invest in a much deeper, thicker, broader, and trilateral set of engagements.
He said that these will further bring the people of the three countries together in important ways.
The security hotline at the upcoming summit will be a part of a new security cooperation framework. It will help address threats from China and North Korea, as well as ensure a trilateral relationship between the three nations.
Aside from this, the three nations also promised to support developing and emerging countries in the so-called Global South.
These include the nations in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Pacific Island Nations.
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China and North Korea Have Their Own Agenda
US President Joe Biden, Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol greet each other ahead of a trilateral meeting during the G7 Leaders' Summit in Hiroshima on May 21, 2023.
As the U.S., Japan, and South Korea further enhance their trilateral relationship, CNA reported that China and North Korea also have their own agenda.
As of press time, Beijing's increasing assertiveness and military posturing across the Taiwan Strait can be seen.
Aside from this, the Chinese government is also constructing artificial islands in the South China Sea. They are even militarizing them to show their dominance.
Meanwhile, North Korea is allegedly returning to its harsh rhetoric and nuclear tests. All these activities of China and North Korea are considered a threat to the national security of Japan and South Korea.
This is why the allied Asian nations and the U.S. are making efforts to further improve and expand their trilateral relationship.
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