U.S. develops regular military exercises among Seoul, Washington and Tokyo

On Friday (local time), the U.S. Department of Defense announced the development of a plan for military exercises involving South Korea, the U.S., and Japan. It means that the three nations are working together to have regular military exercises.

During a discussion with the Brookings Institute, Ely Ratner, the assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security, underscored the shift from ad-hoc measures to a more structured approach in countering North Korea's actions, which is a pivotal innovation to unite and institutionalize trilateral cooperation among the three nations. However, specific details about the training plans were not disclosed during his talk.

Last year, the three nations agreed to regularize their missile defense drills and anti-submarine warfare exercises. Additionally, during the Asian Security Conference (Shangri-La Dialogue) convened in Singapore last month, the defense ministers of the three nations decided to institute an annual joint training plan.

Ratner's comments imply that the planned military drills will occur on a regular basis, similar to the routine South Korea-U.S. joint exercises. Until now, joint training involving South Korea, the U.S., and Japan has mainly taken place in the form of South Korea and Japan participating in South Korea-U.S. or U.S.-Japan exercises, particularly in response to North Korea's significant provocations. It is interpreted as a move to fully institutionalize trilateral security cooperation among South Korea, the U.S., and Japan in the future, akin to the joint training exercises involving the U.S., Japan, and Australia.


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