South Korea, Japan, and IP4 to Hold Five-Nation Foreign Ministers' Meeting with the U.S. Within the Year... New Security Consultative Body to Launch?

President Yoon and IP4 Leaders Meet with Biden

The United States and four Indo-Pacific countries (IP4)?South Korea, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand?have agreed to hold a five-nation foreign ministers' meeting within this year. Attention is focused on whether a new U.S.-led security consultative body aimed at countering China will be launched.

According to the White House on the 11th (local time), U.S. President Joe Biden welcomed the plan to hold such a meeting to enhance cooperation among the five countries during his meeting in Washington with South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol and the leaders of the four Indo-Pacific countries, who are attending the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit.

If the foreign ministers' meeting between the U.S. and the four Indo-Pacific countries is held, it is expected to take place during the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September, when the ministers gather. The launch of a new security consultative body to counter China through the five-nation foreign ministers' meeting is also being closely watched. The U.S. is reportedly seeking to institutionalize the IP4.

Previously, the Biden administration has strengthened its counter-China efforts in the Indo-Pacific region by utilizing multiple multilateral security consultative bodies such as AUKUS (security partnership among the U.S., United Kingdom, and Australia), the Quad (security partnership among the U.S., Japan, Australia, and India), and the South Korea-U.S.-Japan trilateral consultative body.

On this day, the five leaders, including President Yoon and President Biden, strongly condemned Russia for invading Ukraine and waging war. They also agreed to continue supporting Ukraine’s self-defense. President Biden welcomed NATO’s Indo-Pacific partner countries for courageously supporting Ukraine.

The leaders also strongly condemned North Korea’s illegal arms transfers to Russia. They expressed serious concerns that the strengthening of military and economic cooperation between North Korea and Russia violates multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions. They also shared concerns about China’s support for Russia’s defense industry base.

Furthermore, the leaders welcomed the establishment of four new key cooperative projects among NATO and Indo-Pacific partners focusing on support for Ukraine, cyber defense, information exchange to address challenges caused by disinformation, and artificial intelligence (AI), and agreed to strengthen related efforts.