Washington: The leaders of the US, Japan and South Korea have agreed to establish new defence cooperation to counter the threat posed by China and North Korea in the Indo-Pacific region. Accordingly, it is decided that the United States, Japan and South Korea shall assist each other in countering any threat in the area. The leaders of the three countries will sign an agreement in this regard in the meeting held at ‘Camp David’ in the United States, an official from the Biden administration informed. China has strongly criticised this possible agreement to be held at Camp David. This cooperation of the United States, Japan and South Korea will create tension in the region, China has alleged.
Moreover, this is the first meeting being organised at Camp David under the leadership of President Joe Biden. President Biden has scheduled this meeting of the heads of state of Japan and South Korea during the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. It has also clarified that the importance of activities in the Indo-Pacific region has increased. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol have reached Camp David after accepting the invitation of US President Joe Biden. In the next few hours, defence cooperation was to be announced in this meeting. Following this, the details of this cooperation will be shared through the media.
Furthermore, bilateral defence cooperation has previously occurred between the US-Japan and US-South Korea. However, there will be a big difference between these and the Camp David collaboration. The Biden administration has made some issues of this agreement public, yet important issues of the deal being made at Camp David are kept secret, and there is an intense effort to act on it. Along with this, the discussion about the ‘timing’ of this meeting has also started.
Besides, the Russia-Ukraine conflict is going on. China’s anti-Taiwan activities are increasing. Photos of China engaged in building a new runway on an artificial island in the South China Sea have surfaced. China’s war aggression is rising in the Indo-Pacific region. Meanwhile, the meeting of the United States with Japan and South Korea at Camp David proved to be a warning to China. On this background, China has criticised the Camp David meeting. China’s Foreign Ministry has alleged that the United States is creating regional tension by organising such a meeting. China has also alleged that the US is increasing regional instability by forming various military blocs and alliances.
About Camp David…
During World War II, US President Franklin Roosevelt met British Prime Minister Winston Churchill at a retreat called ‘Shangri-La’ in the mountainous region of Maryland. In this discussion, a decision was taken to remove Italy’s dictator Benito Mussolini. Former US President Eisenhower later renamed this place ‘Camp David’.
This place is not known on any world map and is considered classified. The security of this place is in the hands of highly trained Marines of the US Defense Force. In the meeting held at Camp David under the chairmanship of President Jimmy Carter, Israel and Palestine peace agreements and Israel-Egypt cooperation agreements were signed.
The most important issue is that the US is not bound to publish the information about the agreement made in Camp David. For this reason, the details of the deals that the US makes in this place are generally kept private.
