Historic trilateral summit cements partnership in writing

Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held a historic summit at Camp David, aimed at elevating their security cooperation at a critical juncture amid the rise of geopolitical tensions.

From right, Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida take a walk together after their trilateral summit at Camp David in Maryland on Friday. [AP/YONHAP]

The leaders of South Korea, the United States and Japan agreed to immediately consult each other in the event of threats to their collective interests and security at their trilateral summit at Camp David on Friday.

Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held a historic standalone three-way summit at the American presidential retreat in Maryland, aimed at elevating their security and economic cooperation at a critical juncture amid the rise of geopolitical tensions.

The leaders laid grounds for the institutionalization of their trilateral partnership, also agreeing to hold annual joint military exercises, to cooperate closely for stronger missile defense against North Korea and to regularize the trilateral summit, as well as lower-level talks.

Through this meeting, South Korea, the United States and Japan strengthened three-way security coordination as North Korea signals closer ties to traditional allies China and Russia, countries showing increasing assertiveness in the region.

"Today, we made history with the first-ever standalone summit between the leaders of our three countries," Biden said in the joint press conference alongside Yoon and Kishida after their summit Friday afternoon.

Biden called South Korea and Japan “capable and indispensable allies,” adding, “America’s commitment to both countries is ironclad, and my personal commitment to bringing these three nations together was real from the very beginning.“

He also lauded the "political courage" it took for South Korea and Japan's leaders to improve their bilateral relations, in a nod to recent bilateral diplomatic efforts to overcome historical disputes and a trade spat, to enable such a trilateral summit.

Yoon in turn said that the three countries opened "a new chapter" in trilateral cooperation by strengthening their partnership as the world faces complex crises.

He noted that Camp David, a site where important diplomatic decisions were made at critical junctures of modern history, “will be remembered as a historic place where the Republic of Korea, the United States, and Japan proclaimed that we will bolster the rules-based international order and play key roles to enhance regional security and prosperity based on our shared values of freedom, human rights, and rule of law.”

Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, left, speaks at a joint press conference with U.S. President Joe Biden, center, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida after their trilateral summit at Camp David in Maryland on Friday. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Joint commitment, spirit, principles

Yoon, Kishida and Biden adopted three documents at the summit: "Commitment to Consult," as well as "Spirit of Camp David," laying out their joint vision and implementation plan, and "Camp David Principles,” setting out the guidelines for trilateral cooperation.

Through the "Commitment to Consult," the three countries agreed to trilateral consultations "in an expeditious manner, to coordinate our responses to regional challenges, provocations and threats affecting our collective interests and security."

They said they "intend to share information, align our messaging and coordinate response actions."

While the document didn't mention specific threats by name, it is believed to address North Korea's nuclear and missile threats and other security concerns in the Indo-Pacific region.

It added that the countries "retain the freedom to take all appropriate actions to uphold our security interests or sovereignty" and will not supersede any obligations under each of their bilateral alliance treaties or "give rise to rights or obligations under international or domestic law."

Biden told reporters the three countries “all committed to swiftly consult with each other in response to threats to any one of our countries from whatever source it occurs,” adding they will have a “hotline to share information and coordinate our responses whenever there is a crisis in the region or affecting any one of our countries.”

Through their joint statement on the "Spirit of Camp David," the three leaders recognized they had inaugurated "a new era of trilateral partnership" aimed at advancing the security and prosperity of all their people, the region and the world.

This comes at a "hinge point of history" amid geopolitical competition, the climate crisis, Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and nuclear provocations.

"Today, we declare openly that we are united in a common purpose to strengthen our shared region," the statement read, stressing the three countries are aligned in their objectives and actions, "generating the common capacity required to ensure that the Indo-Pacific is thriving, connected, resilient, stable and secure."

In the field of security cooperation, the leaders agreed to operate a real-time sharing of missile warning data on North Korea by the end of this year. They also agreed to hold "annual, named, multi-domain trilateral exercises" on a regular basis to enhance their coordinated capabilities and cooperation and to promote enhanced ballistic missile defense cooperation to counter Pyongyang's nuclear and missile threats.

They again called for the "complete denuclearization" of North Korea, in accordance with United Nations Security Council resolutions, and for Pyongyang "to abandon its nuclear and ballistic missile programs." They announced the establishment of a new trilateral working group to drive cooperation to combat the North's cyber threats and block its cyber-enabled sanctions evasion.

In the statement, the United States also "unequivocally" reaffirmed that its extended deterrence commitments to both South Korea and Japan "are ironclad and backed by the full range of U.S. capabilities."

The three leaders further agreed to build on cooperation in economic security and technology spheres, focusing on supply chain resilience, particularly on semiconductors and batteries, as well as on technology security and standards, clean energy and energy security, biotechnology, critical minerals, pharmaceuticals, artificial intelligence, quantum computing and scientific research.

They also said they “strongly oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the waters of the Indo-Pacific,” noting the “dangerous and aggressive behavior supporting unlawful maritime claims” by China in the South China Sea.

In "Camp David Principles," the three countries affirmed "a shared vision for our partnership as well as for the Indo-Pacific and beyond" based on a respect for international law, shared norms, and common values. This included cooperation with Asean and Pacific Island countries.

They also reaffirmed "the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as an indispensable element of security and prosperity in the international community" and called for a "peaceful resolution" to issues in the area while recognizing that "there is no change" in their basic positions.

They said they will “seek to develop standard practices and norms between our countries and within international bodies to guide the development, use, and transfer of critical and emerging technologies.”

Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, left, takes part in a trilateral summit with the U.S. and Japanese leaders at Camp David near Thurmont, Maryland, Thursday. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

A no-tie affair

The three leaders met for a total of around seven hours at Camp David in Catoctin Mountain Park, near Thurmont, Maryland, for their historic summit. They were dressed in business casual attires, without ties.

Yoon, who kicked off a four-day trip to the United States Thursday hours after sending off his father in a funeral ceremony, arrived at Camp David on a U.S. marine helicopter earlier Friday morning.

He started the day with a 22-minute-long bilateral summit with Biden. Both leaders wore light blue shirts. They also took a 15-minute walk after their talks.

Biden also showed Yoon around Aspen Lodge, the presidential cabin.

The two leaders were joined by Kishida for their three-way summit.

“Today will be remembered as a historic day where we established a firm institutional basis and commitments to the trilateral partnership,” Yoon said in his opening remarks at the trilateral summit.

Biden likewise stressed that “strengthening the ties between our democracies has long been a priority for me, dating back to when I was vice president of the United States.”

He said, “our countries are stronger and the world will be safer as we stand together.”

The three leaders had a no-jacket luncheon meeting joined by their foreign affairs and security aides, with a menu including a salad with peaches from Catoctin Mountain, squash ravioli and a chocolate crunch bar for dessert, according to Yoon’s presidential office.

Biden was seen several times with his arms around Yoon and Kishida’s backs as they took a stroll, signifying their closeness.

To wrap up the summit, Yoon, Biden and Kishida took questions from reporters at an outdoor joint press conference.

Yoon later departed Camp David on a U.S. marine helicopter.

The three countries’ leaders last held a brief trilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Group of 7 summit in Hiroshima, where Biden extended the invitation to a separate standalone summit in the United States.

The Camp David complex was first completed in 1938, and then-President Franklin D. Roosevelt made it the presidential retreat. The venue has become a place for presidents, and their families, to get away from Washington and also to host foreign leaders and heads of state, sometimes to tackle tough diplomatic negotiations.

Yoon and Kishida were the first foreign leaders to visit Camp David since 2015.

Then-Korean President Lee Myung-bak held a bilateral summit meeting with President George W. Bush at Camp David in April 2008 during his visit to the United States.

Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, left, and U.S. President Joe Biden greet each other at Camp David in Maryland on Friday. [PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE]

New era

“Today, we, the three leaders, affirmed our commitment to the trilateral partnership towards a new era and possibilities thereof,” Yoon said in the press conference alongside Biden and Kishida.

Through heightened trilateral cooperation, South Korea, Japan and the United States have shown solidarity in the face of increased geopolitical tensions, leading to concerns by some observers that they will form a "mini-NATO" alliance.

The three leaders did not shy away from speaking on sensitive issues such as the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait.

“Together, we’re going to stand up for international law, freedom of navigation and the peaceful resolution of disputes in the South China Sea,” Biden said.

Kishida in his remarks pointed to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, a continued “unilateral attempt to change the status quo by force in the East and South China Seas” and North Korea’s growing nuclear and missile threat.

“Under such circumstances, to make our trilateral strategic collaboration blossom and bloom is only logical and almost inevitable and is required in this era,” he added.

Likewise, the “Camp David Spirit” joint statement directly calls out China by name, when raising concerns about “actions inconsistent with the rules-based international order,” stronger language than anticipated by some observers.

They also committed to “imposing coordinated, robust sanctions on Russia, and accelerating the reduction of dependency on Russian energy.”

Biden said in the joint press conference that the three countries are expanding economic cooperation to build an Indo-Pacific region that is “peaceful and prosperous.”

During the summit, the three countries agreed to launch a new “Supply Chain Early Warning System Pilot” which will alert each other to disruptions of certain products and materials, like critical minerals or batteries.

To strengthen trilateral strategic cooperation, the leaders agreed to establish the South Korea-U.S.-Japan Indo-Pacific dialogue. They also agreed to launch a consultative body for development policy coordination and build cooperation frameworks in various sectors including global health and women empowerment.

“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,” Wang Wenbin, spokesman of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said in a press briefing Friday on the eve of the Camp David summit.

Washington and Seoul officials have played down concerns that this gathering was meant to alienate any specific countries.

However, analysts point out that the cooperative system between South Korea, the United States and Japan may function as a consultative body that goes beyond Aukus, a security partnership involving the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom, or the Quad, the U.S.-led quadrilateral security dialogue with Australia, India and Japan. Such America-led groupings have been seen as a means to better contain China amid the rising Sino-U.S. rivalry.

The three leaders also met bilaterally on the sidelines of the three-way gathering at Camp David.

Yoon and Biden in their bilateral summit agreed to continue to closely cooperate to strengthen the credibility of extended deterrence as a follow-up to the Washington Declaration adopted at their bilateral summit in April, according to the presidential office.

Yoon and Kishida in their bilateral talks welcomed the "rapid normalization" of cooperation in economy and security between the two countries in recent months," said the presidential office. They agreed to actively work to produce "tangible results that can be felt by the people of both countries" in a wide range of fields including the economy, finance, energy, people-to-people exchanges and education.

“As I depart Camp David, I do so with a shared vision and a renewed spirit,” Yoon wrote in a tweet Sunday. “I hope to host both leaders for our next trilateral summit in [Korea].”

Yoon arrived back in Seoul early Sunday.

"It is very meaningful that this is the first time that the three countries have officially declared their mutual relationship to the international community in writing,” said Lee Do-woon, the presidential spokesman, in a press briefing Sunday in Seoul. “This is the first time that a summit was held with the three leaders gathered separately, so it has a great symbolic meaning and can be evaluated as having a great message to the international community.”

President Yoon Suk Yeol arrives on the presidential jet at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, early Sunday after a four-day trip to the United States for the trilateral summit at Camp David. [PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE]

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]