Camp David meeting portends troublemaking: China Daily editorial

United States President Joe Biden met with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan and President Yoon Suk-yeol of the Republic of Korea at Camp David on Friday, in what was the first ever stand-alone meeting between the leaders of the three countries.

In his speech, Biden said the meeting made history. And that it did, as the leaders of Japan and the ROK explicitly clarified their countries are to be accomplices of Washington in its geopolitical strategy to assert and extend its influence in East Asia and the broader Asia-Pacific region.

Not only did the three leaders reach a deal to launch annual multi-domain military exercises, they also explicitly highlighted Beijing's "dangerous and aggressive behavior supporting unlawful maritime claims" and expressed their shared commitment to maintaining "peace and stability" in the Taiwan Strait and addressing economic coercion; all of which is Washington-speak for containing China.

China, Japan and the ROK are major countries in the region and their neighborly ties, economic and trade cooperation are the mainstays of regional peace and development. China will continue its cooperation and exchanges with Japan and the ROK knowing doing so helps promote peace and development in the region. But the summit, with its joint statement highlighting the three countries' malignant intentions toward China, shows its two major neighbors with their inferiority complexes are willing to sacrifice both for a seat at the Western table.

Political parties and people in Japan and the ROK should be on the alert about what their leaders are doing with Washington. Countries in Asia should also be aware that the three countries are up to no good. They should bear in mind that whenever Washington is pulling the strings behind the political scenes, it results in military conflicts or political turmoil, which is verified by the sufferings of people in various parts of the world.

No one should believe that the ROK and Japan playing the role of henchmen of Washington in its geopolitical schemes in Asia will help promote regional peace and development. Nor should Seoul and Tokyo fool themselves by thinking that enhancing their countries' military cooperation with the US is a smart move that will bolster their presence in the region. As far as Washington is concerned, it is inevitable and necessary that some mistakes are made or some sacrifices must occur for it to achieve its objective. Japan and the ROK are simply to be the proxies for the US for whatever price or sacrifice must be paid for the US to maintain its regional dominance.

By ill-judiciously allowing themselves to be the wrecking balls for Washington to dismantle the hard-built architecture of cooperation that serves all countries in the region well, Seoul and Tokyo will ultimately find no favor in the region.