NEW DELHI: Picturesque Camp David north west of the US capital Washington DC, is a luxury retreat famous for hosting the 1978 summit which saw peace between Egypt and Israel. On Friday, President Joe Biden will host his Korean counterpart Yoon Suk Yeol and Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to forge a common front against the threat from China and North Korea.
Japan and South Korea are military allies of the US but their bilateral relationship has been scarred by Tokyo’s 35-years of colonial occupation of South Korea beginning in 1910. Although relations have improved, resentment of Japan runs deep among Koreans.
Biden is hopeful this summit will lead to a frank exchange between President Yoon and Prime Minister Kishida on closing the door on the past, and moving forward on current threats: Japan is concerned about a possible Chinese invasion of Taiwan while Seoul is worried about the threat from North Korea.
Biden is expected to push hard on trilateral cooperation in ballistic missile defence, technology development.and more military exercises. A joint statement underlying “a threat to one is a threat to all”, is expected.
