The defense chiefs of Japan, the United States and South Korea used a meeting at Asia’s top regional security conference Sunday to announce a series of new initiatives that will help formalize their nascent trilateral defense cooperation.
At a meeting on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Defense Minister Minoru Kihara, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and South Korean defense chief Shin Won-sik agreed to develop a framework within a year to industrialize trilateral cooperation.
The push comes as fears grow over a possible shortcoming in US involvement in the region should former US President Donald Trump be re-elected in November. It also comes amid concerns that political changes in Seoul could destroy Tokyo’s hard-won cooperation agreements that have already been reached.
