Sure A Not

Japan and South Korea are strong US allies, and these three countries also share mutual interests in reinforcing the so-called “liberal and rules-based order” in the Indo-Pacific region as well as the international community.

The national security of Japan and South Korea has been drawn together through common threats and their security ties with the US. Recently, the three countries agreed to work toward establishing a mechanism for sharing real-time data on several missile launches by North Korea this year. 

The trilateral mechanism among Japan, South Korea and the US improved in 2022, inspired by North Korea’s nuclear ambitions and the election of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol. Most noteworthy in recent times was the Phnom Penh statement in November 2022 on a Japan-US-Korea trilateral partnership for cooperating in the Indo-Pacific region.

However, historical hostility between Japan and South Korea has been a challenge to this trilateral cooperation. Both nations host a high number of US troops and both have also signed security partnerships with the US.

However, in March this year, President Yoon and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held a meeting that was a big step toward rebuilding their security and economic ties, and the two nations sought to unite through mutual concerns over North Korea’s nuclear capabilities and China’s expansionist behavior. 

It is clearly beneficial for both Japan and South Korea to cooperate with the US to be realistically prepared for uncertainties on the Korean Peninsula. These three nations aim to attenuate the North Korean threat and embrace the concept of hedging against China’s rise.

The North Korean threat has intensified over time as it fired a record number of missiles in 2022, and this has further propelled Japan-South Korea-US trilateral cooperation. Therefore, North Korean threats will perhaps keep trilateral cooperation in place. Moreover, South Korea’s aim of nuclear planning and Japan’s aim to possess long-range strike capabilities could be issues boosting trilateral cooperation. 

Regarding growing Chinese assertiveness, Japan aims to oppose China’s attempts to alter the status quo, while South Korea has adopted a relatively appeasing approach aimed at maintaining its economic relationship with China.

Tokyo and Seoul also differ in their stances on the Taiwan issue. Japan has been in support of Taiwan’s security, while South Korea has avoided direct commitments to establishing stability in the Taiwan Strait.

For its part, the US has been working toward increasing its military as well as political support for Taipei through elevated defense cooperation and regular official visits by politicians. 

The United States is keen on continuing to work deeply with Japan and South Korea to ensure peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. Recently, President Yoon visited the United States, where he and US President Joe Biden reached an agreement that would allow an increased level of deployment of US assets around the Korean Peninsula.

Furthermore, Biden has also invited Kishida and Yoon for a formal trilateral meeting to discuss issues and challenges in depth. 

North Korea’s nuclear ambitions 

North Korea’s media criticized plans of South Korea, Japan and the US to share real-time data on its missile launches, calling the move a way of strengthening military cooperation among these three countries.

The defense chiefs of the US and Japan emphasized the need for trilateral cooperation with South Korea after a North Korean rocket carrying a spy satellite failed, which led to an emergency alert for Japan’s Okinawa prefecture.

Pyongyang’s nuclear tests and missile launches threaten the stability in the region and also violate international law. 

North Korea’s nuclear arsenal has been building up, which also includes the development of missiles capable of delivering atomic bombs anywhere in the US. This has further concerned Japan regarding America’s nuclear umbrella. However, the US has reaffirmed its commitment to Japan time and again and also works toward extending deterrence through the US nuclear capabilities. 

Furthermore, trilateral defense cooperation has grown deeper in recent times after the rapprochement between South Korea and Japan. Their cooperation involves trilateral military drills for practicing the tracking of North Korea’s missile launches and information-sharing exercises.

Japan’s Defense Ministry has also warned that it will destroy North Korean missiles they it enter its territory. Moreover, the ministry has been taking concrete precautions that involve deploying Patriot missile defense batteries. 

Trilateral in the Indo-Pacific 

As far as the Indo-Pacific region is concerned, the US, South Korea and Japan have mutual interests in bolstering the “rules-based order.” These three nations must contribute to embracing economic connectivity in the region.

For instance, the US and South Korea should consider joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Japan, the US and South Korea must enhance their security cooperation to tackle North Korea’s nuclear threats through intelligence sharing as well as military and security consultation. 

A free and open Indo-Pacific is vital for all three nations to maintain prosperity, democracy and security and to counter China’s rise and influence. It has become essential to create a structure for peace and stability for safeguarding democracies in Northeast Asia.

To ensure a coordinated response to challenges faced in light of North Korea’s nuclear ambitions, the US, South Korea and Japan need to work on improving their interoperability for conducting joint operations.

In South Korea’s recent National Security Strategy, emphasis is laid greatly on cooperation with Japan and the US and further pursuing value-based diplomacy that involves freedom, rule of law and democracy.

The strategy has also focused on the increased need for strengthened trilateral cooperation, and for this mechanism to flourish in coming years, there is a need to transform and improve Korea-Japan ties.

The three countries possess potent economic, military and political power but need to do more to counter threats from China and North Korea. 

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As with any Israeli operation in the West Bank, there are several ways to understand the recent events in Jenin.

Israel’s explanation for its assault on the refugee camp – which killed 12 Palestinians, injured 140, and forced thousands to flee – was to curb the rise of Palestinian resistance in the northern West Bank. A recent spike in Palestinian attacks on the Israeli military and civilians has dominated the news.

However, Israel’s explanation never acknowledges the constant aggression that comes with a full-blown military occupation. The maintenance and expansion of Israel’s occupation is a primary motivation for its recent actions in Jenin. 

It’s also vital to view the recent Jenin operation from the political standpoint of Israel’s hard-right government. The spike in violence between Israelis and Palestinians – the Israeli military has killed 114 Palestinians this year, and Palestinians have killed 16 Israelis – has given Israel’s extremist politicians a platform to incite hatred and encourage deepening the country’s footprint in Palestinian areas. 

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who has been convicted of incitement to racism, responded to one recent attack on Israeli settlers with calls for “a military operation to demolish buildings, eliminate terrorists, not one or two, but tens and hundreds, and if necessary even thousands.”

Other politicians have called for increased Israeli settlement creation in response to the wave of violence sweeping the territory. There are open discussions in Israel and Palestine that large-scale Palestinian expulsions from the West Bank could be in the cards in the not-too-distant future.

Palestinians see the Jenin operation as a serious attempt to destabilize Palestinian life. Institutions such as the Palestinian Authority have proved completely unable to stand up for Palestinian rights and dignity in the face of continuous Israeli assaults and land grabs. At this point, the two-state solution as envisaged in the Oslo Accords is a faint memory, let alone a viable plan for the future.  

While the spike in violence between the two sides is undeniable, it’s a symptom of a deeper issue. The occupation of Palestine is the most funded and resourced state project in Israel’s history.

On the surface, the occupation has been sold as a temporary defensive measure necessary for Israel’s survival. However, it satisfies many other needs.

Given the biblical connection to the West Bank, the occupation provides a religious veneer to the project of secular Zionism. Control over holy cities with deep meaning in Jewish religious history rallies Jews worldwide to support Israel and its government. 

Technology laboratory

More important, Israel’s military control over an entire population has facilitated the creation of a lucrative weapons industry.

In his new book The Palestine Laboratory: How Israel Exports the Technology of Occupation Around the World, Australian journalist Antony Loewenstein has documented the intricate connection between the occupation of Palestine and the development of the modern weapons industry.

Controlling millions of people requires more than a strong military. Israel has dominated virtually all aspects of Palestinian life with remarkable efficiency through a matrix of checkpoints, physical barriers, and advanced surveillance technologies. 

The systems Israel has designed, developed and tested have become lucrative goods for export to some of the world’s most repressive regimes.

While many have heard about Israel’s NSO group and its phone-hacking technology, fewer know how deep Israel’s history of exporting weapons technologies goes. From Augusto Pinochet’s Chile to apartheid South Africa, Israel has used the knowledge and systems it procures in its control over Palestinians to establish lucrative trade and political ties around the world. 

Israel’s drone program, which has brought billions of dollars into the country, is one of the best in the world. Loewenstein notes it has become so good because the Israeli military has a captured population in the West Bank and Gaza that it can fly drones over and test various technologies. Tested weapons and surveillance technology are generally considered the best, and Israel can test its wares 24 hours a day on a captive Palestinian population. 

If the occupation were to end tomorrow and a two-state solution took hold over the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, Israel would lose its technology laboratory. The Israeli weapons industry, just like apartheid South Africa’s weapons industry, would wither into a shadow of its former self.

Since many of Israel’s vaunted technology entrepreneurs started in elite military units, the country’s mainstream technology sector would also take a hit. Where would they test their crafts and new ideas?

From this perspective, Israel has a significant economic interest in entrenching its occupation of Palestine. Thus political posturing is a distraction drumbeat to keep the population invested in this resource-intense state project.  

The recent Jenin operation looks different when considering Palestine as a weapons laboratory.

While the cycle of violence might be spiking, the Israeli army decided to test out new tools and strategies in Jenin last week. What they learned from the operation will go into new surveillance and control technologies that will eventually find their way around the world.

If you want to find a reason for the assault on Jenin or the continuation of Israel’s occupation, follow the weapons technology.

This article was provided by Syndication Bureau, which holds copyright.

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