Page 205 - Trilateral Korea Japan U.S. Cooperation

The “Commitment to Consult” document reinforces the
commitment to coordinate responses to regional challenges,
provocations, and threats, protecting collective interests
and ensuring security. However, it’s not expected that South
Korea would engage in joint military action in a Taiwan crisis,
though contingencies in both the Taiwan Strait and Korean
Peninsula are considered. These cooperative efforts aim to be
institutionalized and sustainable, reducing the risk of security
cooperation breakdown due to political circumstances in each
country.

Challenges Ahead:

Credible Extended Nuclear Deterrence and Threat Reduction

In Northeast Asia, the increasing risk of emergencies in
Taiwan and the Korean Peninsula also increases nuclear
risks. Conflicts in Northeast Asia might involve not only
conventional land, sea, and air combat but also large-scale
missile attacks using ballistic and cruise missiles with improved
precision strike capabilities, hybrid warfare including
information warfare such as operations by paramilitary forces
and false flag operations, and asymmetric attacks using space,
cyber, electromagnetic domains, and unmanned assets, all
under the long shadow of nuclear weapons.

In such a strategic environment, it is essential to construct a
deterrence posture that integrates deterrence by denial and
deterrence by resilience, as well as deterrence by punishment
and cost-imposing measures, not only within the Japan-U.S.

Chapter Twelve : Trilateral Cooperation is Essential to Deter Pyongyang and Dissuade Beijing 205