The United States and Japan’s foreign and defense ministers have issued a statement emphasizing the importance of cooperation with South Korea for regional peace and stability.
According to Kyodo News, the U.S.-Japan foreign and defense ministers emphasized in their joint statement a product of the 2+2 meeting held in Tokyo on Sunday. The statement said, “The ministers emphasized the critical importance of deepening cooperation with South Korea to maintain regional peace and stability, based on the commitments made during the 2023 Camp David (U.S.-Japan-South Korea) summit and the trilateral foreign and defense ministers’ meeting this year.”
The ministers also welcomed the successful execution of the new U.S.-South Korea-Japan trilateral joint exercise, Freedom Edge, and the ongoing operation of the trilateral North Korean missile warning data-sharing mechanism.
The Freedom Edge exercise, conducted from Saturday to Monday in international waters south of Jeju Island, saw extensive participation from the naval and air forces of South Korea, the U.S., and Japan. The exercise covered various areas, including maritime missile defense, air defense and air training, anti-submarine warfare, search and rescue, maritime interdiction, and cyber defense.
Furthermore, during the trilateral Joint Chiefs of Staff meeting on July 18, the three nations agreed to expand the Freedom Edge exercises.
In the 2+2 meeting, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin represented the U.S., while Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and Defense Minister Minoru Kihara represented Japan.
The U.S.-Japan 2+2 meeting was held for the first time in about a year and a half since it was last hosted in the U.S. in January 2023.
