"I would just underscore that this summit today, this partnership, is not against anyone; it is for something. It is for a vision of the Indo-Pacific that is free, open, secure and prosperous," Sullivan said in response to a reporter's question at Camp David about China’s complaint that the US was seeking to form an "Asian NATO."
"If you look at the deliverables, if you look at the joint statement, if you look at the principles…they are not taking aim at a country. They are taking aim at an affirmative vision for how we can deliver results for the peoples of our countries, but also for people across the Pacific," Sullivan added.
He noted that the US had already been cooperating with Japan and South Korea for decades; thus, what was actually new was a framework to "stitch all of that work together."
He argued that this preexisting trilateral cooperation had helped boost economic conditions for all countries in the Indo-Pacific region, including China.