Japan—US—South Korea Triangle: How Strong Will the New Alliance Be?

The article examines the process of recreating and strengthening the Japan-US-South Korea geopolitical triangle, as well as its international role in the Asia-Pacific region. This military-political alliance was formed by the United States in the context of its confrontation with the USSR in the AsiaPacific region during the first Cold War. Then the trilateral alliance was incomplete, since Japan and South Korea, through their bilateral security treaties, were closed to the United States, and did not carry out direct military cooperation between themselves. After the end of this war and the collapse of the Soviet Union, this geopolitical structure lost its relevance. The escalated problems of Japan's colonial rule on the Korean peninsula in the first half of the 20th century actually kept political relations between Japan and South Korea in a state of tension until very recently. Now, in the conditions of the Cold War 2, Washington, with the support of Tokyo and Seoul, intends to revive and use this triangle as part of its Indo—Pacific strategy, but this time to contain, first, China's gaining economic and military power, as well as eliminate the so-called nuclear missile threat from North Korea. An important role in the institutionalization of the trilateral alliance was played by the summit of the United States, Japan and South Korea, held on August 18, 2023 at the residence of the American presidents at Camp David. The factors of increasing the role of the triangle in Washington's Indo-Pacific strategy are the coming to power in South Korea in 2022 of Yoon Suk Yeol who took a conciliatory position towards Japan, as well as Tokyo's course to accelerate the build-up of its military power and acquire offensive potential. The reanimation of the Japan-US-South Korea triangle at Camp David contributed to the intensification of negotiations on the creation of a parallel triangle in Northeast Asia consisting of China, Japan and South Korea in order to establish economic and political cooperation between the three countries. At the same time, it is possible that the continued instability of the Tokyo-Seoul line may once again become the "Achilles heel" of the Japan-US-South Korea triangle.