The Joint Summit on South Korean, Israel and the Middle East, was not for anyone but for Something: Sullivan, Mr. Biden, his National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan

Both China and North Korea have been successful at exploiting these differences. They continue to remind their people and those in the wider region of Japan’s colonial and wartime history, helping to keep alive memories that are also a source of anti-Japanese sentiment in South Korea. China imposed severe economic penalties on Seoul for its decision to deploy a defensive American antimissile system over Beijing’s objections. North Korea has in the past dangled the possible return of Japanese citizens said to have been abducted by Pyongyang decades ago, partly in an effort to curry favor with Tokyo and get it to ease some sanctions imposed on North Korea. Beijing has tried to sow local opposition in Okinawa against the U.S. military bases there.

Japanese and South Korean presidents have important elections on the horizon, like Mr. Biden. Mr. Yoon, who took over in May 2022 and whose approval ratings have languished for most of his tenure, faces national assembly elections in the spring. Mr. Kishida is likely to call for snap elections by the end of this year, which would leave him open to a leadership challenge within his own party. It is vital that the three leaders clearly convey to their own electorates — and to regional players like China — that their commitment to collective security is irreversible and will withstand domestic political changes.

Mr. Biden signaled that he understood the gravity of the moment when he chose to hold the summit at Camp David. The historic presidential retreat outside of Washington has been the go-to venue for some of the most important U.S. diplomatic events. Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians were brokered at Camp David, as well as the Camp David Accords, which established the basis for the end of hostilities between Israel and Egypt. Holding Friday’s meeting at the retreat appropriately places the event in that pantheon and conveys the importance of the trilateral partnership to audiences in the three countries and the rest of the world.

Jake Sullivan, the national security advisor to Joe Biden, said on Friday that the summit wasn’t against anyone but for something. “It is for a vision of the Indo Pacific that is free, open, secure and prosperous. This is an affirmative agenda.

The U.S. tries to restore diplomatic ties to China after a spy balloon attack on the Taiwan Strait in February-March

The administration has tried to restore limited diplomatic ties with China after the relationship between the two nations hit a low point after a spy balloon from China flew over much of the United States this winter before being shot down by the U.S. military in February.

Military and intelligence officials have previously said that China hid malicious computer codes deep inside the networks that control power grids, communications systems and water supplies in the United States and around the world.

Mr. Biden has sought to rally allies in the Indo-Pacific region to contain the economic and military influence of Beijing, in what has been a focal point of his foreign policy agenda. The United States and Japan share the same interest in ensuring peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.

China’s telecommunications champion, Huawei, has been almost completely blocked from the U.S. market. The US is trying to restore its own chip industry and has banned the export of expensive equipment used to make chips in hopes of keeping China at bay.