The U.S. strengthens AUKUS
Washington continues to methodically build up the military capabilities of its most promising Asian “small geometry” alliance, AUKUS, which includes its most trusted allies, the UK and Australia, in an attempt to maintain military dominance over the PRC. On 1 December, the Defense Ministers of the three countries met at the headquarters of the Defense Innovation unit in California, where they were given a visual showcase of the U.S. progress in developing promising weapons. The choice of location and the stunning showcase were intended to provide an additional…
The Birth of a “New Iron Triangle”: International Reaction
According to South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, cooperation between Washington, Seoul and Tokyo is “universal, fair, and aimed at achieving common benefits.” It was emphasized that the meeting made it possible to institutionalize and strengthen a system of comprehensive cooperation between the three countries. The President of South Korea is confident that strengthening interaction with the United States and Japan will contribute to the growth of South Korea’s influence in the international arena and expects that in the future this format “will become a regional…
The Birth of a “New Iron Triangle”: Analysis of the Main Summit Documents
Following the summit, two conceptual documents were adopted, called the “Camp David Principles” and the “Spirit of Camp David.” They overlap in many ways, with the first containing guidelines for trilateral cooperation and the second laying out their detailed vision for trilateral cooperation and a plan for its implementation. At their core, such documents aim to achieve consensus on policy issues and develop a single course so that “Japan, the Republic of Korea, and the United States are united in their goals and actions, creating their common potential.”…
The Birth of a “New Iron Triangle”: Expectations and Event Course
On 18 August 2023, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol held a trilateral summit with US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at Camp David, near Washington. The South Korean president visited Camp David for the first time since 2008, when it was first visited by former President Lee Myung-bak. The summit also marked the first full-fledged trilateral meeting after previous shorter encounters at regional and international gatherings. To date, the three countries have held 12 trilateral meetings, three of which were during the Yoon administration on the multilateral diplomatic…
Japan Activates in Africa
The long ago started process of Japan’s return (after its crushing defeat in World War II) to the table of the “Great Global Game” as one of the main players has revealed itself, in particular, in Tokyo’s ever more noticeable activation in Africa. This activation is quite tellingly exemplified by travels by three members of the country’s government, led by the Prime Minister, to various countries of the continent, that has taken place in a successive manner from May to mid-August of this year, that is, within just three months. The word “activation” is not being used randomly here, as various interests of Japan in the affairs of this continent had been noted long before the present “African rush” that has expanded …
The Camp David Summit: Biden With His Puppets
On Friday August 18th President Biden of the USA, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida met at Camp David, Maryland in the USA, to talk about concrete steps ‘toward maintaining regional peace and stability” in the Indo- Pacific Region, according to a statement by Anthony Blinken, the American Secretary of State. What they mean is that they discussed ways and means of weakening and attacking China and North Korea in every sphere, and related to that, discussed what to do about Russia and Ukrain…
Yoon Suk-yeol’s Eastern European Tour. Part One. President of the Republic of Korea at the NATO summit
On July 17, 2023, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol returned home after completing an eight-day overseas trip that took him to Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine. President Moon Jae-in of South Korea attended the NATO summit in Vilnius, where he “stressed Seoul’s commitment to deepening cooperation with the military alliance through a new special partnership program and the ROK’s participation in the military information sharing system with NATO member states.” Yoon Suk-yeol next traveled to Warsaw…
The Unexpected Ruling of the Seoul Court
The issue of the lawsuits that South Korea is bringing against Japan has a long history. When Japan and the ROK established diplomatic relations in 1965, Tokyo paid substantial compensation and provided interest-free loans to Seoul, which were not a determining but important part of the "miracle at Hangangan". Although these sums were sent to the Korean government rather than...