First Voice

The U.S., Japan and South Korea are expected to announce a series of joint initiatives on technology, education, and ballistic missile defense when the countries' leaders gather at Camp David this Friday, the Associated Press quoted senior Biden administration officials as saying. The White House aims to use the summit for "institutionalizing, deepening and thickening the habits of cooperation" among the three countries, one official said.

Friday's meeting where leaders are to set up a three-way hot line will mark the first in what the White House hopes to be an annual gathering among the three countries. The summit also comes amid a thaw in Japan-South Korea ties, as the two neighbors held their first joint summit in 12 years this March. Against this backdrop, Camp David summit is seen by many as a major diplomatic breakthrough and a significant upgrade in trilateral ties.

However, different interest appeals determine the three countries are unlikely to form a united front in an increasingly complicated Pacific. Calling for closer cooperation, Washington, Tokyo, and Seoul have their respective political calculations and are taking advantage of the summit for their own agendas. Their alliance is founded on quicksand.

U.S. President Joe Biden (left), Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (center) and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol (right) attend a photo op on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Hiroshima, Japan, May 21, 2023. /Reuters

For Washington, containing China has been its No.1 priority in the Asia-Pacific region. For years, the U.S., in an attempt to secure its global hegemony, has been manipulating every possible means to woo allies into its anti-China club, and Friday's summit is its latest attempt.

"The collaboration is ostensibly mainly about North Korea (the DPRK)… But there's no disguising the larger strategic opportunity the prospective alliance represents – a critical new bulwark in America's increasingly urgent effort to deter our potentially existential strategic challenger" – China, Gerard Baker, Editor at Large of The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) said in an WSJ opinion. U.S. Ambassador in Tokyo Rahm Emanuel who played an important role in bringing Friday's gathering about also admitted that the event is mainly about China. 

But Asian countries, economically integrated with China, have no intention to pick sides between Beijing and Washington. How to get the most benefits from interactions with the world's two major powers is what regional countries care about. For the Japanese government, the alliance with the U.S. is an easy tool for concrete interests, and a condition in exchange for Washington's support on international issues.

According to Japanese media Asahi Shimbun, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is expected to explain the "scientific basis" and "safety" of the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water as he meets the leaders of the U.S. and South Korea this week. Apparently, while Washington expects Tokyo's active response to Friday's summit, Tokyo is anticipating Washington's support on its dumping plan.

By dancing to the U.S. tune, the Japanese government aims for realistic interests. It does not share the same political aspiration with the United States. This determines the fragility of their alliance. It is worth noting that just a week before the Camp David summit, the two countries are embroiled in a spat about whaling. While American trade representatives are pushing Japan to accept anti-whaling language in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, Japanese officials responded by suggesting that Tokyo could walk away from the trade deal. This proves the fragility of Japan-U.S. collaboration: Gaining concrete interests from Washington is a prerequisite for the Japanese government to play a role in U.S.-led events and deals.

The same goes for South Korea. A peaceful settlement of the Korean Peninsula issue, not the need to contain China, is what the South Korean government cares about. But regrettably, the summit will only raise the anxiety level of the DPRK and thus could stimulate it to move a step further in its nuclear ambition. Shouting to find a solution to the Korean Peninsula issue, the summit will only fuel tensions and will exert detrimental impacts on the peninsula in the long run. This, apparently, is not what the South Korean government is happy to see.

Calling for closer cooperation, the U.S., Japan, and South Korea are taking advantage of the upcoming summit for selfish interests. Shouting "institutionalizing, deepening and thickening the habits of cooperation," respective political calculations determine the fragility of the alliance among the three countries.