President Biden welcomed Japanese Prime Minister Kishida and Republic of Korea (ROK) President Yoon to a historic trilateral summit at Camp David, the first-ever stand-alone summit of Leaders from the United States, Japan, and the ROK, and the first summit of foreign leaders at Camp David during the Biden-Harris Administration. The Leaders jointly inaugurated a new era of trilateral partnership and reaffirmed that cooperation between the United States, Japan, and the ROK advances the security and prosperity of our people, the Indo-Pacific region, and the world.
This fact sheet provides an overview of the understandings that were affirmed or reaffirmed during the Summit, as well as plans for further cooperative activities between the United States, Japan, and the ROK.
HIGH-LEVEL TRILATERAL CONSULTATIONS
Today’s Summit is the fourth meeting between President Biden, Prime Minister Kishida, and President Yoon over the fourteen months. The Summit is the culmination of numerous meetings between Foreign Ministers, Defense Ministers, National Security Advisors, and other senior officials across the three governments. Today, the three Leaders reaffirmed the critical importance of regular, high-level consultations between our countries.
Commitment to Consult: The Leaders announced their governments’ commitment to consult with each other in an expeditious manner to coordinate their responses to regional challenges, provocations, and threats that affect their collective interests and security.
Annual Leaders’ Meeting: The Leaders decided to meet in-person at least annually to build on the momentum of the Camp David Trilateral Leaders’ Summit. At these meetings, Leaders will share assessments on a range of geostrategic issues and discuss opportunities for further trilateral cooperation.
Annual Meetings Between Foreign Ministers, Defense Ministers, Commerce and Industry Ministers, and National Security Advisors: At least annually, foreign ministers from the United States, Japan, and the ROK will meet trilaterally with their counterparts; defense ministers will meet trilaterally with their counterparts; commerce and industry ministers will meet trilaterally with their counterparts; and national security advisors will meet trilaterally with their counterparts. The three countries will rotate hosting responsibilities of these separate, annual meetings, all focused on strengthening the trilateral relationship across domains. The three countries will also hold the first trilateral meeting between finance ministers.
Annual Trilateral Indo-Pacific Dialogue: The Leaders decided that their governments would initiate an annual Assistant Secretary-led Indo-Pacific Dialogue focused on coordinating implementation of their respective Indo-Pacific approaches, with a particular emphasis on partnership with Southeast Asian and Pacific Island countries.
STRENGTHENING SECURITY COOPERATION
The United States, Japan, and the ROK are committed to further strengthening trilateral security cooperation, including through enhanced trilateral defense exercises, improved information sharing, and increased cooperation on ballistic missile defense, including against the DPRK’s missile threat. The three Leaders affirmed ongoing progress to regularize defensive exercises that contribute to strengthening trilateral responses to DPRK threats, resume maritime interdiction exercises and anti-piracy exercises, and expand trilateral cooperation in other areas, including disaster relief and humanitarian assistance.
Multi-year Trilateral Exercise Plan: Building upon the understandings reached by Defense Ministers in June 2023 at Shangri-La, as well as the recent successful trilateral ballistic missile defense and anti-submarine warfare exercises, the United States, Japan, and the ROK decided on a multi-year trilateral framework that includes annual, named, multi-domain trilateral exercises, which will constitute an unprecedented level of trilateral defense cooperation.
Improved Cooperation on Ballistic Missile Defense: The United States, Japan, and the ROK affirmed the decision to activate a data-sharing mechanism to exchange real-time missile warning data that would improve the detection and assessment of DPRK missile launches, building upon the commitment made by Leaders at their meeting in Phnom Penh last year. The three leaders committed to operationalizing this mechanism by the end of 2023. This cooperation will strengthen our data sharing and enable all three countries to establish enhanced capabilities that will contribute to peace and stability across the Indo-Pacific.
Trilateral Working Group on DPRK Cyber Activities: The United States, Japan, and the ROK decided to establish a new trilateral Working Group on DPRK Cyber Activities comprised of the U.S., Japanese, and ROK interagencies to coordinate efforts to counter DPRK illicit revenue generation and malicious cyber activities. The Working Group will focus on sharing intelligence; coordinating responses to the DPRK’s cryptocurrency use, theft, and laundering; addressing the DPRK’s use of IT workers for revenue generation through diplomatic and industry engagement; and disrupting malicious cyber actor operations.
Enhanced Information Sharing and Coordination: The three Leaders affirmed the importance of increased information sharing, including the utilization of the 2014 U.S.-Japan-ROK Trilateral Information Sharing Arrangement and their respective bilateral General Security of Military Information Agreements. The United States, Japan, and the ROK will leverage existing secure lines of communications and continue building and institutionalizing respective communication channels.
Countering Foreign Information Manipulation: Recognizing the increased threat posed by foreign information manipulation and the misuse of surveillance technology, the United States, Japan, and the ROK will discuss ways to coordinate efforts to counter disinformation.
BROADENING COOPERATION IN THE INDO-PACIFIC
As Indo-Pacific nations, the United States, Japan, and the ROK are committed to taking actions to defend peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, along with partners in the region. They aim to bolster existing regional architecture, such as ASEAN and the Pacific Islands Forum, and enhance our respective capacity building and humanitarian efforts through greater coordination, including through the Partners in the Blue Pacific, the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, and the Friends of the Mekong.
Trilateral Development Finance Cooperation: The development finance institutions of the United States, Japan, and ROK – the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), and Export-Import Bank of Korea (Korea Eximbank) – are signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to strengthen their cooperation to mobilize financing for quality infrastructure, including information and communications technology (ICT); carbon neutrality; and resilient supply chains in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond.
Trilateral Maritime Security Cooperation Framework: The United States, Japan, and the ROK are establishing a trilateral maritime mechanism to synchronize partner capacity building in Southeast Asia and Pacific Island countries, with a focus on Coast Guard and maritime law enforcement capacity building and maritime domain awareness.
Development and Humanitarian Response Policy Dialogue: In October, the United States, Japan, and the ROK will convene a senior-level trilateral development and humanitarian response policy dialogue between the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Japanese and ROK Ministries of Foreign Affairs. This will advance concrete discussions to coordinate assistance to regions across the globe, including the Indo-Pacific. To bridge policy and practice, USAID the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) will also collaboratively assist the development of partner countries by focusing on their needs.
DEEPENING ECONOMIC AND TECHNOLOGY COOPERATION
The United States, Japan, and the ROK are strengthening trilateral cooperation to reinforce the rules-based economic order to enhance economic security; promote sustainable, resilient, and inclusive economic growth; and expand prosperity throughout the Indo-Pacific and the world, building on shared leadership in the Minerals Security Partnership, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity negotiations. The Leaders committed to focusing efforts for trilateral cooperation, including through further Trilateral Economic Security Dialogues, on early warning systems for supply chain resilience; working to coordinate export controls on advanced technology; advancing their efforts to develop international standards and to ensure safe, secure, and trustworthy on artificial intelligence; coordinating infrastructure assistance in the Indo-Pacific region; ensuring financial stability as well as orderly and well-functioning financial markets; expanding collaboration on critical minerals; and working together to address economic coercion.
Women’s Empowerment Initiative: The United States, Japan, and the ROK highlighted the importance of women’s economic empowerment, and decided to continue building on existing trilateral initiatives on this topic through programs and events designed to build government, civil society, and corporate partnerships that advance women and girls in STEM fields, domestic care infrastructure, and women’s full and meaningful participation in all sectors of society.
Supply Chain Early Warning System (EWS) Pilot: The United States, Japan, and the ROK decided to launch a pilot EWS, including through periodic information exchanges across their respective missions in a select set of countries, to complement early warning mechanisms such as with the European Union, and additional mechanisms being considered as part of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity. They will identify priority products and materials—such as critical minerals, and rechargeable batteries—and establish mechanisms to rapidly share information on disruptions to crucial supply chains.
Trilateral National Laboratories Cooperation: The United States, Japan, and the ROK will drive new trilateral cooperation between the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Laboratories and counterpart laboratories—supported by a budget of at least $6 million—to advance knowledge, strengthen scientific collaboration, and spearhead innovation in support of the three countries’ shared interests. Scientists and innovators from the three countries will advance collaborative projects on priority critical and emerging technology areas; potential areas of cooperation include advanced computing, artificial intelligence, materials research, and climate and earthquake modeling among other technology areas.
Disruptive Technology Protection Network: The United States, Japan, and the ROK decided to expand collaboration on technology protection measures, including expanding information-sharing and the exchange of best practices across the three countries’ enforcement agencies. The three countries will build connections between the U.S. Department of Justice and Department of Commerce-led Disruptive Technology Strike Force representatives and Japan and ROK counterparts through an inaugural exchange later this year.
Technology Standards Cooperation: The United States, Japan, and the ROK will collaborate on advancing common principles to ensure safe, secure, and responsible development and applications of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence. The U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology will seek to advance a bilateral framework with ROK counterparts to complement and strengthen ongoing efforts with Japan in multilateral fora such as the International Standards Cooperation Network.
EXPANDING GLOBAL HEALTH AND PEOPLE-TO-PEOPLE COOPERATION
The United States, Japan, and the ROK are committed to protecting the health of their citizens and promoting global health security in the Indo-Pacific through joint research and data sharing. They are also committed to strengthening people-to-people ties through educational and professional exchanges and cooperative efforts that build capacity among the leaders of tomorrow to confront global challenges together.
Cancer Moonshot Cooperation: The United States, Japan, and the ROK committed to reinvigorate trilateral cooperation on the U.S. Cancer Moonshot, beginning with a trilateral cancer dialogue, led by high-level representatives from their respective national cancer institutes. This new initiative builds on a trilateral meeting of health experts that then-Vice President Biden hosted in 2016. The dialogue would enhance cooperation in the sharing of epidemiological data, research, exchange programs, clinical trials, regulations, academic partnerships, and the development of cutting-edge cancer therapies.
The U.S.-ROK-Japan Trilateral Global Leadership Youth Summit: The Department of State will sponsor the first annual trilateral youth summit to be held in Busan in early 2024. The summit will bring together emerging Korean, Japanese, and American youth leaders to develop global leadership skills and share perspectives on global issues that affect the trilateral partnership.
Trilateral Technology Leaders Training Program: The Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies intends to host training programs on technology-policy issues for mid-career government officials from the United States, Japan, and the ROK. This program is designed to train the next generation of leaders to make critical decisions about how the technologies of the future are governed.
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