WASHINGTON: A White House official on Monday said enhanced trilateral cooperation with South Korea and Japan are among key achievements of the Joe Biden administration’s Indo-Pacific Strategy.
John Kirby, the National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, during a press briefing, said Washington’s deep engagement in the region, is the epicenter of geopolitics in the 21st century.
“The president hosted the leaders in Japan and South Korea to Camp David and really got not only significant developments in terms of our bilateral relationship with each country, each ally, but improved opportunities to get trilateral cooperation in a much better place than it’s ever been,” he said.
He added the three countries have enhanced their capabilities in and around the Korean Peninsula to keep a close eye on what North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is doing.
Kirby said that the US hosted a landmark trilateral summit attended by President Yoon Suk Yeol, U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at Camp David in August last year.
A series of agreements were signed during the conference including the Commitment to Consult each other in case of shared security threats.
Kirby also referred to the 2021 launch of the AUKUS partnership among the U.S., Britain and Australia, developed to equip Australia with nuclear-powered submarines (SSNs), as well as strengthening the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue.
The State Department in a fact sheet said that since the release of the Indo-Pacific Strategy in February 2022, the U.S. has taken various measures to advance a shared vision for the region.
