A senior official of the U.S. Biden administration stated that the trilateral summit between South Korea, the United States, and Japan, held during the Group of Seven (G7) summit, will discuss strengthening military cooperation among the three countries and responding to China's economic coercion.
During a virtual briefing on the 20th (local time), the senior official said, "The three countries will focus heavily on exploring ways to improve military interoperability and readiness, and to be better prepared to implement collective national security commitments individually and collectively within the region."
He also said, "The three leaders will have extensive discussions on the economy as well," adding, "I would not be surprised if the leaders discuss the economic challenges posed by China’s coercion that all three countries face."
The South Korea-U.S.-Japan summit will be held on the afternoon of the 21st in Hiroshima, Japan. Immediately after the summit, President Biden will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The official expressed hope that China would play a greater role in persuading Russia to end the Ukraine war. He said, "We hope China sees the G7 leaders’ strong commitment to supporting Ukraine," and that Chinese President Xi Jinping "will use his influence to encourage Putin (Russian President) to stop the war."
Regarding ways to end the Ukraine war, he emphasized, "A reliable, sustainable, and meaningful peace (agreement) proposal is certainly useful, and China can play a role in this."
The senior official also noted the significance of the G7 leaders mentioning the need to control foreign investments by their domestic companies in the economic security statement, adding, "Of course, how to do that is a matter each country must decide on its own."
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