The New York Times said that the Camp David Summit was a pivotal moment for Asian security
The Prevalence of the Korean-South Korean Stability Confronting the First Day of Cold War II: The White House Summit on Friday at Camp David
As President Barack Obama’s special assistant and later assistant secretary of state for East Asia, I saw firsthand the disruptive effects of friction between Japan and South Korea. At times, it shut down defense exchange programs, meetings between officers, naval ship visits and joint military exercises. Difficulty in sharing digital radar data that shows North Koreans missile launches between defense systems in South Korea and Japan has required the military to use cumbersome workarounds.
Like Mr. Biden, the Japanese and South Korean presidents have important elections looming. The national assembly elections are in the spring, and Mr. Yoon is up for reelection despite his poor approval ratings. Mr. Kishida could face a leadership challenge within his own party as soon as the end of the year when he is likely to call snap parliamentary elections. It is important that the three leaders convey to their own electorates and to regional players that their commitment to collective security is permanent and can survive domestic political changes.
Mr. Biden has shown that he understands the gravity of the moment by holding the summit at Camp David. The presidential retreat outside of Washington has been the most important location for United States diplomatic events in the past. The Camp David Accords that laid the foundation for the end of hostilities between Israel and Egypt were brokered there in 1978, as were later peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. The event on Friday at the retreat is placed in that pantheon because it conveys the importance of the partnership with the other two countries and the world at large.
Jake Sullivan, Mr. Biden’s national security adviser, said that the summit was for something and not against anyone. “It is for a vision of the Indo Pacific that is free, open, secure and prosperous. This is not a normal agenda.
The U.S.-China Relations after a Security-Advealing Spy Balloon Rides Through the Taiwan Strait
The relationship between the US and China deteriorated after a Chinese spy balloon flew over the United States in winter and was shot down by the U.S. military in February.
Military and intelligence officials recently said the Biden administration believed China hid malicious computer code deep inside the networks that control the power grids, communications systems, and water supplies that feed military bases in the United States and around the world.
Mr. Biden has sought to rally allies in the Indo-Pacific region to contain the economic and military influence of Beijing, in what has been a focal point of his foreign policy agenda. The pursuit of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait is a common interest of Japan, South Korea and the United States.
China’s telecommunications champion, Huawei, has been almost completely blocked from the U.S. market. Washington has also banned the export of the multimillion-dollar lithography equipment used to produce chips in hopes of limiting China’s progress while the United States tries to restore its own semiconductor industry.
