US-Japan-S.Korea heads meeting to ‘raise tensions on Peninsula’
The leaders of the US, Japan and South Korea met on Sunday to further coordinate their positions on North Korean missile tests on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit in Cambodia, while also seeking input on managing China’s influence in the Pacific region. Chinese experts believe that while the US has stepped up efforts in aligning its allies to serve its own strategic purposes, it will only escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsula and there will be growing divergences between Japan and South Korea in terms of confronting China for Washington’s interests.
US President Joe Biden said on Sunday that the US, Japan and South Korea were “more aligned than ever” on North Korea, which he added has continued its “provocative behavior,” Reuters reported.
Biden also met separately with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Sunday, before the three leaders met together on the sidelines of the summit. US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on Saturday that Biden aims to use the meetings to strengthen the three countries’ joint response to the “dangers posed by North Korea.”
“The upcoming measures will further fuel the flames,” said Yang Xiyu, a senior research fellow at the China Institute of International Studies.
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula situation escalated to fresh heights recently when North Korea reportedly launched multiple missiles after a US-South Korea military drills kicked off. Experts believe that the missile launches are in response to South Korean-US joint deterrence efforts, and that past experience has shown that increasing military deterrence against North Korea only provokes a tougher response from Pyongyang.
China should remain cautious about the US using the excuse of North Korea issue to advance military cooperation between South Korea and Japan and realize the plan for an “Asian NATO,” Lü Chao, an expert on the Korean Peninsula at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Sunday.