Singapore: In a significant move aimed at enhancing regional security, the United States, Japan, and South Korea have agreed to conduct new trilateral joint exercises this summer. The announcement came through a joint statement issued by the U.S. Department of Defense on Sunday, following a meeting of the defense ministers from the three allies.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Japan’s Defense Minister Minoru Kihara, and South Korea’s Defense Minister Shin Won-sik convened in Singapore on Sunday during the annual Shangri-La Dialogue security summit. Their discussions culminated in a commitment to strengthen trilateral cooperation to safeguard peace and stability not only in the Korean Peninsula but also across the broader Indo-Pacific region.
According to the statement, the three defense chiefs “committed to continue to strengthen trilateral cooperation to ensure peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula, the Indo-Pacific, and beyond.”
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Furthermore, the trio agreed to establish a Trilateral Security Cooperation Framework within the year, aiming to formalize their three-way defense collaboration. This framework signifies a strategic effort to institutionalize and deepen their collective defense mechanisms.
Expressing shared concerns over recent developments, the top defense officials of the three nations criticized North Korea’s recent launches of ballistic missiles and a military spy satellite, both utilizing ballistic missile technology. These actions were condemned as clear violations of United Nations Security Council resolutions.
