I would instead have pushed for the administration to align US policy more fully with Japan and South Korea here. Biden called on Japan and China to develop direct bilateral security mechanisms to reduce the potential for crisis over unintended military conflict. That’s important, but the lack of focus on aligning Japanese and South Korean interests seems like a missed opportunity, given they are both firm US allies and share a common grievance with China. It’s good that Obama finally rescheduled his Asia trip for the spring. He should also invite South Korea and Japan’s leaders to meet together in the White House, and make this work. It’s a low-risk endeavor that could only help US diplomatic efforts.