It is attracting attention after U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken emphasized ‘trilateral cooperation between Korea, the United States, and Japan’ ahead of his visit to Korea on the 18th.
In relation to this, there is an interpretation that Secretary Blinken’s ‘mediation’ efforts in relation to the recent war situation between Israel and Palestine have not had much effect, indicating that he will definitely take care of the ‘cooperation’ of allies in the Northeast Asian region such as Korea and Japan. there is.
According to the U.S. State Department, Secretary Blinken, who is visiting Tokyo, Japan to attend the G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, evaluated efforts to strengthen Korea-Japan relations during a visit with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on the 7th, and especially said, “‘Free and open. “Cooperation between the United States, Japan, and South Korea is important in developing the ‘French Indo-Pacific’ (FOIP),” he said.
Since its launch in 2021, the U.S. Joe Biden administration has emphasized the need for ‘Korea-U.S.-Japan cooperation’ to respond to regional security threats such as North Korea and China.
Meanwhile, the relationship between Korea and Japan has been deteriorating for several years due to the Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling on compensation for forced mobilization damages against Japanese war criminal companies and Japan’s resulting backlash. In March of this year, the Korean government decided to use the method of ‘third party reimbursement’. After presenting a compensation solution in the form of relieving Japan’s legal burden, the country is in a state of complete recovery.
Since March of this year, Korea and Japan have held a series of bilateral summits through ‘shuttle diplomacy’ between the leaders, and in August, a Korea-US-Japan summit was held at ‘Camp David’, the US President’s villa.
However, apart from achieving certain results in ‘small multilateral cooperation’ with Korea and Japan, the Biden administration is still facing various ‘difficulties’ externally. In particular, many point out that the war in Ukraine, which began with Russia’s invasion in February last year, and the war between Israel and Palestine following the recent surprise attack by the Palestinian armed political faction Hamas are factors that are dispersing America’s diplomatic capabilities.
For example, during his visit to Israel on the 3rd of this month (local time), Minister Blinken proposed a ‘temporary ceasefire’ to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu due to the need for humanitarian measures for civilians in the Gaza Strip, Palestine, but Israel refused to do so, thereby ‘saving face’. I ended up crumpling it. Secretary Blinken also visited Israel on the 12th and 16th of last month.
Regarding this, Park Won-gon, a professor at Ewha Womans University, pointed out, “There is a lot of talk about whether the United States is not playing its role properly.” In the past, the United States, as the so-called ‘world police’ country, exerted considerable influence in mediating conflict situations in each country, but as the trend of ‘multipolarization’ or ‘new cold war’ emerged over the past few years, the United States’ international status and position have also decreased. It’s different from before.
In Northeast Asia, there exists a ‘joint threat between Korea, the United States and Japan’ called North Korea, which paradoxically serves as a background for the maintenance of the US-led order. However, some are wary of the observation that “this may also change depending on the results of the US presidential election in November next year.” It is raised in a thread.
Accordingly, during his visit to Korea following his visit to Japan, Secretary Blinken is expected to emphasize cooperation among the three countries, the United States, the Republic of Korea, and Japan to counter threats from North Korea, while also seeking solidarity and stability among allies in Northeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific region based on this. . The recent trend of military cooperation between Russia and North Korea is also becoming a backdrop for calls for U.S. involvement in the region.
After entering Korea through Osan Air Force Base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi-do, on the afternoon of the 18th, Secretary Blinken plans to attend the ROK-US Foreign Ministers’ meeting with Foreign Minister Park Jin on the 19th and continue his schedule, including a courtesy visit to President Yoon Seok-yeol and a meeting with National Security Office Director Cho Tae-yong.
Professor Park said that Minister Blinken is planning to visit India following his trip to Korea and Japan, saying, “Through this, the United States will try to show how much it values the India-Pacific region,” adding, “It is a message to advance Korea-U.S.-Japan cooperation (in Korea as well).” “It is expected that it will be released,” he said.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Kishida and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa each met with Secretary Blinken and expressed agreement on the need for humanitarian support for the residents of the Gaza Strip in relation to the war situation between Israel and Palestine, saying, “We must cooperate with the United States.” The Japanese side reported that he expressed his position by saying, “I will go.”
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.