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US President Joe Biden greets South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on May 21 ahead of their trilateral summit on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima, Japan. (AP/Yonhap)

Reports indicate that significantly strengthening security cooperation between South Korea and Japan will be on the agenda at the upcoming South Korea-US-Japan summit scheduled for Aug. 18.

The Financial Times reported on Tuesday that the US is trying to include references to measures drastically bolstering security cooperation between Seoul and Tokyo in the joint statement that will be released as part of the upcoming summit, such as by specifying that the two countries have a “duty to consult the others in the event of an attack.” Setting up a trilateral hotline for the three countries’ leaders, conducting trilateral military exercises and strengthening cybersecurity cooperation will also likely be on the table. Potentially holding regular trilateral meetings for the three heads of state is also being considered.

This is the first time leaders of South Korea, the US and Japan are holding an exclusive summit instead of meeting on the sidelines of a multilateral summit, and the possibility of regularly holding such meetings and operating them like that of a security consultative group is being discussed.

The specifics of the joint statement have not been set in stone yet, as discussions amongst the three countries are still ongoing. But reports about its potential contents indicate that the US is trying to institutionalize security cooperation between South Korea and Japan at a level equivalent to that of an alliance in order to support trilateral security cooperation amongst Seoul, Washington and Tokyo.

The US has attempted to bolster trilateral security cooperation amongst the three countries in order to hold China in check in the Indo-Pacific, in turn pushing to deepen South Korea and Japan’s cooperation on security. On Saturday, US President Joe Biden remarked that efforts to contain China are succeeding, dubbing the reconciliation between South Korea and Japan a “fundamental change.” With the Yoon Suk-yeol administration letting Japan off the hook from past historical issues and strengthening South Korea-Japan relations in all arenas, the tide for trilateral security cooperation amongst South Korea, the US and Japan is quickly rising.

The problem is that, while the US will gain clear strategic benefits by utilizing this to contain China, the side effects will outweigh the benefits in South Korea’s case.

Security cooperation between South Korea and the US as well as amongst South Korea, the US and Japan should be boosted to a certain extent to prepare against North Korea’s advancing nuclear capabilities, tight cooperation amongst North Korea, China and Russia, and rising tensions in East Asia surrounding Taiwan. But is it really desirable to abandon all efforts to demand the just resolution of historical issues between South Korea and Japan to instead rush military cooperation?

Strategically speaking, the chances of North Korea, China and Russia standing together more closely will increase the more South Korea, the US and Japan bolster their military cooperation.

Standing on the front line of efforts to contain China according to US strategy without managing its tensions with China is likely to significantly jeopardize South Korea’s security and economy. The government should properly consider this reality and negotiate with the US as prudently as possible.

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]