Soon after a fleet of Russian and Chinese warships traversed the waterway between Japan’s Okinawa and Miyako Islands on Thursday, the leaders of Washington’s foremost North Asian allies touched down in the United States for a historic display of unity amid growing regional tensions.
President Joe Biden hosted South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at Camp David last Friday for a stand-alone summit, the first of its kind between the three nations. The choice of venue was no accident: It was at the presidential retreat in Maryland that President Jimmy Carter brokered a peace between Israel and Egypt in 1978. Nearly 45 years later, the three heads of state set aside the Asian allies’ historical differences in the face of novel geopolitical threats.