On March 17th, 2021, the GW Institute for Korea Studies (GWIKS) and the East Asia National Resource Center co-sponsored the Korea Policy Forum on “U.S.-ROK-Japan Trilateral Relations in the Biden Era”. Moderated by Celeste Arrington, Korean Foundation Associate Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at GW, this forum features three experts: Seong-ho Sheen, a Professor of International Security, and Director of International Security Center at Graduate School of International Studies (GSIS), Seoul National University (SNU), Shihoko Goto, the Deputy Director for Geoeconomics and Senior Northeast Asia Associate at the Woodrow Wilson Center’s Asia Program, and Gregg A. Brazinsky, a Professor of History and International Affairs and Deputy Director of GW Institute for Korean Studies.
Professor Sheen started the discussion with the Biden Administration’s consideration of Korea and Japan as important allies to the United States. He further stated that the military burden-sharing agreement has finally been resolved under Biden’s administration. The next speaker, Shihoko Goto, discussed Secretaries Blinken and Austin’s trips to Northeast Asia, specifically with regards to the bilateral relations between Japan and South Korea and prospects for the Japan-U.S.-Korea trilateral relations. Professor Brazinsky commented about Japanese Revisionism as a threat to the U.S. National Security. He further discussed why we should be concerned about how the Japanese interpret their history and how it might affect U.S. policymakers. Following his presentation, the moderator moved onto a Q&A session. The audience submitted a wide range of questions such as the outcomes of Secretaries Blinken and Austin’s visit to Seoul and Japan ahead of the Biden Administration’s full-policy on East Asia, the multiple sanctions signed on the treatment of Uyghurs, opinions on reaffirmation of China-DPRK relations, potential areas of economic cooperation among Japan, Korea and the United States, etc.
