President Joe Biden and the leaders of Japan and the Republic of Korea concluded their Camp David summit, agreeing to commit to stronger trilateral ties that would elevate their countries’ influence in the region. This comes as the United States shows more interest in countering the actions of Democratic Republic of Korea (DPRK) and China in the Asia-Pacific.
Biden described his summit with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida as a “new era and partnership.” The three leaders agreed to strengthen their trilateral partnership, committing to elevated defense and economic cooperation. One of the products of the summit is the establishment of a hotline.
“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,” Biden said.
Furthermore, the three agreed to hold annual meetings; increased cooperation with ASEAN and Pacific island nations, especially in building up their maritime security capacity; information sharing on North Korean activities; and the creation of a supply chain early warning system pilot that would alert the respective countries to “disruptions of certain products and materials.”
North Korea was a focal point during the leaders’ address to the press. The country has increased its military provocations, launching several missiles in the region. As a result the U.S., Japan and South Korea have agreed to increase their information sharing capabilities to more quickly assess and coordinate their responses to the North’s actions.
“In countering the DPRK’s nuclear and missile threats, we concurred that trilateral defense exercises were crucial,” Yoon said. “As such, annual plans will be established for the ROK-U.S.-Japan drills we committed to.”
The three leaders also committed themselves to countering the North’s cyber activities.
While China was not a focal point of the meeting, it still made appearances. In a joint statement, the leaders denounced the activities of China in the South China Sea, adding that they “strongly oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the waters of the Indo-Pacific.” They also reaffirmed their positions on Taiwan, calling for “a peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues.” China claims Taiwan as part of its territory. In an address last October, President Xi Jinping reaffirmed his opposition to Taiwan independence and called for the safeguarding of China’s sovereignty.
Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry, when asked about the summit, said, “Attempts to cobble together various exclusionary groupings and bring bloc confrontation and military blocs into the Asia-Pacific are not going to get support and will only be met with vigilance and opposition from regional countries.”
The U.S.-ROK-Japan summit is the latest addition in America’s growing interest in the region. A day before, the U.N. Security Council held an open discussion on the human rights situation in North Korea, the first since 2017. The 15-member council focused on the North’s repression and monitoring of its citizens as well as its alleged abduction activities abroad.
“According to our information, people are becoming increasingly desperate as informal markets and other coping mechanisms are dismantled while their fear of state surveillance, arrest, interrogation and detention has increased,” Volker Türk, U.N. high commissioner for human rights, said in his briefing.
Elizabeth Salmón, special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, stated that the North’s citizens are dying due to starvation, malnutrition, disease and lack of healthcare. She urged the Council to not remain indifferent, saying that the “continuation of the status quo” is an “inadequate response to the suffering of the people in the DPRK.”
A North Korean defector even personally addressed the council. Kim Il-hyeok told his personal account of what he experienced in the reclusive hermit kingdom.
“When I should have been studying hard, instead, I was soaked in sweat while planting and harvesting crops,” Kim said. “The government turns our blood and sweat into a luxurious life for the leadership and missiles that blast our hard work into [the] sky.”
Most of the Security Council denounced the actions and human rights violations of the DPRK. “The modern world has no place for the DPRK government’s brutality,” Linda Thomas-Greenfield, U.S. permanent representative to the U.N. and president of the Security Council, said.
Some, while denouncing the human rights record of the DPRK, asked that the discussion be held in other forums, such as the Human Rights Council, believing that the Security Council did not have a mandate on the issue.
Some outright opposed the council’s consideration of the issue, China and Russia being the outspoken dissenters.
“The human rights situation in DPRK does not pose a threat to international peace and security,” Geng Shuang, Chinese deputy permanent representative to the U.N., said. “Pushing the council to consider the human rights situation in the DPRK will not only not help to ease, but escalate the situation. It is irresponsible, unconstructive and an abuse of the council’s power.”
Dmitry Polyanskiy, Russian deputy permanent representative to the U.N., characterized the discussion as a shameless attempt by Western states to “advance their own self-serving, politicized agenda.” He said that the U.S. and its allies are the “real threat to international peace and security.”
The United States and South Korea are now holding joint military drills on the Korean Peninsula. Exercise Ulchi Freedom Shield will be an 11-day exercise meant to ensure U.S.-South Korea military readiness and to “promote security and stability in Northeast Asia,” according to a press release by the U.S. Navy.
The Asia-Pacific is a haven for politicking. China is trying to become the dominant presence within the region, threatening Taiwan and participating in land reclamation projects to expand its military presence in the South China Sea. The United States is attempting to reassert its influence by strengthening alliance partnerships and coordinating with other Asia-Pacific countries to build up its credibility. Smaller regional players are also in the mix. South Korea and Japan have eased diplomatic tensions in order to focus on North Korea’s weapons programs. The Philippines is strengthening its sovereignty by cooperating with the U.S. in military exercises and fortifying its claims in the South China Sea, sometimes even refusing Chinese demands. As parties reforge and strengthen their respective partnerships, the Asia-Pacific geopolitical chess game will become more complex.