Zhao Minghao; Qiu Jiachang，Alliance-building of U.S.-Japan-South Korea Trilateral Relations，Journal of Strategy and Decision-Making，No.6，2024，pp.36-44

Abstract: In recent years, the United States has continuously promoted the modernization of itsalliance strategy, seeking to build a multi-layered, nested latticework of alliances and partner⁃ships. The alliance-building of U.S. -Japan-South Korea trilateral relations is a manifestationof this dynamic. Amid the U. S. -Japan and U. S. -South Korea formal alliances, Japan andSouth Korea have not signed an alliance treaty, so the U.S.-Japan-South Korea trilateral rela⁃tionship is not a formal alliance. However, the trend of“alliance-building”is reflected in the in⁃creasingly close ties among the three sides, which does not only focus on traditional military se⁃curity issues, but also attaches more attention to the economic security, technological securityand other areas. The Biden administration has attempted to integrate the U.S.-Japan-SouthKorea trilateral arrangement with other mini-lateral mechanisms such as those of U.S.-Japan-Philippines, U.S.-Japan-Australia, U.S.-Japan-India-Australia, and so on, to weave a closernetwork of allies and partners in China's neighborhood. This will intensify the strategic pres⁃sure on China, affect its position in the international supply chain and innovation chain, and in⁃crease the risk of bloc-like confrontation in the Asia-Pacific region.Key words: U. S. Diplomacy; Latticework of Alliances and Partnerships; U. S. -Japan-SouthKorea Trilateral Relations; U.S.-China RelationsAuthors: Zhao Minghao, Deputy Director and Professor, Center for American Studies, FudanUniversity; Senior Fellow, Fudan Institute of Belt and Road & Global Governance; Qiu Jiachang,Ph.D. Candidate, School of International Relations and Public Affairs, Fudan University.