Asia

US, Japan, South Korea Commit to Annual, Multi-Domain Military Drills - Statement

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The United States, Japan, and South Korea in a joint statement on Friday said they intend to hold annual exercises across various domains on a regular basis.
Sputnik
"Our three countries announce today that we intend to hold annual, named, multi-domain trilateral exercises on a regular basis to enhance our coordinated capabilities and cooperation," the statement said.

"We announce our governments' commitment to consult with each other in an expeditious manner to coordinate our responses to regional challenges, provocations, and threats that affect our collective interests and security," the statement said. "Through these consultations, we intend to share information, align our messaging, and coordinate response actions."

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“We will also launch an annual Trilateral Indo-Pacific Dialogue to coordinate the implementation of our Indo-Pacific approaches and to continually identify new areas for common action,” the joint statement added.
The three countries, which held a summit on Friday, also expressed readiness to "reestablishing dialogue" with North Korea "without preconditions." At the same time, they committed to improve cooperation to "combat DPRK cyber threats and block its cyber-enabled sanctions evasion."
Ahead of Friday's talks, hosted by President Biden at Camp David and attended by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, US officials said Washington and its Japanese and South Korean allies planned to set up a "three-way hotline" to facilitate eased communication between the three countries for emergencies.
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The joint statement also "reaffirmed" the allies' recognition of the "importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as an indispensable element of security and prosperity in the international community," with the three countries saying that their "basic position" remains calling "for a peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues."
"Going forward, our countries are committed to working closely together to launch early warning system pilots to expand information sharing and enhance policy coordination on possible disruptions to global supply chains as well as to better prepare us to confront and overcome economic coercion," the leaders also said.
Finally, the three nations promised to continue their support for Ukraine, and the imposition of sanctions against Russia. "We commit to continue providing assistance to Ukraine, imposing coordinated, robust sanctions on Russia, and accelerating the reduction of dependency on Russian energy."
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Friday's summit comes amid a rapidly deteriorating security situation in Asia as the United States searches for allies to "contain" China diplomatically and militarily across the region, and around Taiwan and the South China Sea in particular. It also comes amid growing tensions on the Korean Peninsula, stemming partly from the Biden administration's decision to abandon its predecessor's approach on personalized diplomacy with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The US resumption of large-scale drills on the peninsula, combined with the Yoon government's decision to restore the "enemy" label against Pyongyang, prompted North Korea to ramp up its missile testing activities, and to officially declare itself a nuclear weapons state.
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