South Korea and Japan are capable and indispensable allies, and America’s commitment to both countries is ironclad, declared President Joe Biden at the recent Trilateral Leaders’ summit at Camp David.
“We’ve made history with the first-ever standalone summit between the leaders of our three countries, as well as our commitment to meet together on the leader level annually,” remarked President Biden.
“Our world stands at an inflection point — a point where we’re called to lead in new ways,” said President Biden:
“First, we’re elevating our trilateral defense collaboration to deliver in the Indo-Pacific region. That includes launching annual multi-domain military exercises, bringing our trilateral defense cooperation to an unprecedented levels. We’re doubling down on information sharing, including on the DPRK’s missile launches and cyber activities, strengthening our ballistic missile defense cooperation.”
All three nations reaffirmed their shared commitment to maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and addressing economic coercion.
“We’re going to continue to counter threats from [North Korea],” said President Biden, including cryptocurrency money laundering to the tune of billions of dollars, and potential arms transfers in support of Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine.
And together, stressed President Biden, “we’re going to stand up for international law, freedom of navigation, and the peaceful resolution of disputes in the South China Sea.”
The U.S., Japan, and South Korea also agreed to expand their economic cooperation, said President Biden:
“We’ve committed to launch what we call a Supply Chain Early Warning System Pilot, which will alert our nations to disruptions of certain products and materials, like critical minerals or batteries, so we can get ahead of the issues ... that we’ve experienced during the pandemic.”
“And finally, our partnership is about building a better future for our people,” said President Biden:
“That’s why we’re deepening our cooperation on global health and launching a trilateral expert exchange in support of the U.S. Cancer Moonshot initiative ... In the United States, we are revolutionizing the way we do cancer research. And together, the three of us, I am confident we can harness our shared spirit of innovation and end cancer as we know it.”
“In the months and years ahead,” said President Biden, “we’re going to continue to seize those possibilities together — unwavering in our unity and unmatched in our resolve.”
