U.S. House committee calls for greater trilateral cooperation with S. Korea, Japan

WASHINGTON, April 25 (Yonhap) — The U.S. House Armed Services Committee called for greater security cooperation between the United States, South Korea and Japan as it put forward a draft defense budget bill for next year on Monday.

“Japan and the Republic of Korea (South Korea) are both treaty allies and critically important security partners of the United States,” the legislation said. “Japan and South Korea confront a range of shared challenges to their national security and to stability in the Asia-Pacific region, including the multitude of threats posed by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea).”

The bill calls for the U.S. to continue to support not only three-way cooperation with Seoul and Tokyo, but also bilateral defense cooperation between the two Asian allies on the full range of issues related to North Korea and to other security challenges in the Asia-Pacific region.

“The United States should seek to facilitate closer security cooperation with and between Japan and South Korea on non-proliferation, cyber security, maritime security, security technology and capability development; and other areas of mutual security benefit,” the bill said.

The U.S. has long pursued greater defense cooperation with South Korea and Japan as it sought to increase its influence in the region under President Barack Obama’s “pivot to Asia” policy aimed in part at keeping a rising China in check.

The bill also noted the “strategic importance” of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system “for U.S. and allied missile defense.”

“As threats continue to adapt and increase, the committee notes the importance of maintaining these systems and providing adequate training and deployment schedule for the crews,” it said.