Multilateralism, not multipolarity should be goal

A clear impediment to multilateralism in Northeast Asia is the lack of regional security mechanisms. Experts have recently laid out rationales for a U.S.-Japan-China Strategic Dialogue and a U.S.-Japan-South Korea Trilateral Security Committee. The problem is that the former would raise concerns in Seoul about being “passed” and the latter would raise concerns in Beijing about being “contained.” A new forum including all four countries would add little value to the existing Six-party Talks and ASEAN dialogues because disagreement about the role of alliances and maintaining relations with Taiwan would inhibit substantive progress.

The next American president would thus be well advised to launch parallel U.S.-Japan-China and U.S.-Japan-South Korea strategic dialogues, where senior officials would coordinate security policies.

Leif-Eric Easley is a Ph.D. candidate at Harvard University’s Department of Government, a member of the Pacific Forum CSIS Young Leaders program, and a visiting scholar at UCLA.

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