In the wake of the Aug. 18 “Spirit of Camp David” joint declaration, the U.S., South Korea and Japan unveiled what they christened as a “new era of trilateral partnership.” This agreement scales trilateral cooperation to new heights, but it also underscores a pronounced pivot in South Korea’s foreign policy doctrine — primarily marked by Seoul’s departure from its past equivocal position on the South China Sea.

The joint statement directly addresses the elephant in the room — China’s “dangerous and aggressive behavior supporting unlawful maritime claims” — highlighting an Aug. 5 incident when Chinese Coast Guard ships took aggressive action against their Philippine counterparts who were on a mission to resupply a Philippine military outpost on the Second Thomas Shoal in the disputed Spratly Islands.