On Aug 9 last year, US President Joe Biden signed into law the CHIPS and Science Act with a view to "bringing semiconductor supply chains home, supporting innovation and protecting national security".

The Biden administration has been engaging with partners and allies to coordinate actions to implement CHIPS, seeking to establish safeguards to prevent "countries of concern", primarily China, from acquiring sensitive technologies in three sectors: semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information technologies and certain artificial intelligence systems. Two of its key partners in this endeavor are Japan and the Republic of Korea.

With both countries firmly aligned with the Biden administration's view of China as a "country of concern" under their current governments, the leaders of the three countries are due to meet for talks for a summit hosted by Biden at Camp David near Washington on Friday. There has been no official announcement on what they will discuss. But according to reports, Biden is pushing for a "historic joint statement" on "extended deterrence" and the building of a global tech supply chain that excludes China.

The Biden administration has positioned China as the only competitor that has both the intent to reshape the international order so that it is no longer so markedly tilted in the US' favor, and, increasingly, the economic, diplomatic, military and technological power to do so. It is therefore trying to create a sort of force field around China in order to contain it.

Japan and the ROK, in pursuit of their own agendas, have stepped forward to be part of this force field. Under Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Japan is speculating on the Biden administration's tough line on China in the hope that the country will be able to break free of the postwar constraints imposed on it. The ROK, under President Yoon Suk-yeol, is hoping that by backing the Biden administration, the US will support it in taking a more confrontational stance toward the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Both countries have decided they are willing to sacrifice their cooperation with China to achieve their ends.

With the three countries hoping to use each other to realize their respective agendas, the regional situation is likely to become increasingly fraught.

They should proceed with caution as they step up their cooperation. By reflecting on history, the three leaders may better understand the potential risks and pitfalls that may arise from increased cooperation among their countries. In trying to advance their own respective agenda, each country should take heed that their aimpoint does not turn their cooperation into a sort of influence mine — one that is actuated by its emanations rather than direct contact.

Any increased cooperation between the three powers in the region has the potential to set off a chain of reactions beyond their expectations and control. Before acting, it is important that the three nations thoroughly assess the risks and potential consequences of their deepening cooperation to target China. Regional stability should be a top priority for all three countries.