US, S. Korea hail chipmaking alliance as Biden begins Asia trip
He visits Samsung plant in show of 2 nations' solidarity against China's growing reach
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United States President Joe Biden has lauded the importance of partnership with South Korea in chipmaking as he embarked on an Asia trip to rally support from regional partners to keep China in check.
The five-day trip, his first visit to Asia as president, will also take him to Japan.
Arriving in South Korea yesterday, Mr Biden headed straight to Pyeongtaek, 70km south of Seoul, to visit tech giant Samsung's largest semiconductor manufacturing plant. He was welcomed by newly inaugurated South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Samsung vice-chairman Lee Jae-yong.
"Our two nations work together to make the best and most advanced technologies in the world, and this factory is proof of that," Mr Biden said in a speech after the tour, noting that Samsung will invest US$17 billion (S$23.5 billion) to build a similar facility in Texas.
"That gives both (South) Korea and the United States a competitive edge in the global economy if we can keep our supply chain resilient, reliable and secure."
Mr Yoon noted the US-South Korea chip partnership, which started in 1974, is as deep as the security alliance between them.
"With today's visit, I hope that US-South Korea relations will be reborn as an economic and security alliance based on cooperation in advanced technology and supply chains," he said.
The factory visit is deemed a sign of US-South Korea solidarity against China's growing reach in chips and to flaunt to Beijing the close ties between Washington and Samsung, amid US efforts to fix a domestic shortage of chips.
Next week in Tokyo, Mr Biden is slated to launch the US-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) aimed at strengthening US economic cooperation with its Indo-Pacific partners, such as Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, and build a global supply chain without China.
During his speech, Mr Biden said the US will work with like-minded countries with shared values, like South Korea, to "secure more of what we need from our allies and partners, and bolster our supply chain resilience".
He will hold a summit with Mr Yoon to discuss issues such as North Korea's growing nuclear threat and come up with a plan to strengthen US "extended deterrence" - which refers to the deployment of US assets to defend an ally.
Biden, Xi may talk in coming weeks
ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE • US President Joe Biden may talk to his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in the coming weeks, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said aboard Air Force One.
"I wouldn't be surprised if, in the coming weeks, President Biden and President Xi speak again," he said on Thursday.
Mr Sullivan spoke on Wednesday with Mr Yang Jiechi, a key foreign policy adviser to Mr Xi, and said he was "direct with him about our concerns about North Korea's nuclear and missile activities and our view that this is not in China's interests".
"It's not in America's interests, and... China should contemplate taking whatever steps it can to reduce the possibility of a provocative North Korean act... We had a good back and forth on that subject," he said, adding that Taiwan and other issues were also discussed.
Mr Biden landed in South Korea yesterday evening, and met newly elected President Yoon Suk-yeol, with North Korea at the top of the agenda.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un abandoned a freeze on intercontinental ballistic missile testing and appears poised to resume testing of nuclear bombs, perhaps while Mr Biden is in the region. On Wednesday, Mr Sullivan said the United States was prepared to make short-and long-term adjustments to its military posture to ensure defence and deterrence to its allies in the region.
REUTERS
Mr Yoon is expected to announce South Korea's participation in the IPEF, an initiative feared to anger Beijing and trigger economic retaliation against Seoul.
He has said the IPEF is not a zero-sum game and "we just need to build good economic ties in our relationship with China as well".
The two leaders have plans to visit a major Air Force operations centre in Pyeongtaek tomorrow, before Mr Biden leaves for Japan.
In Tokyo, Mr Biden will hold a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. They will also meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and whoever wins Australia's national elections today for a summit of the Quad grouping, which Beijing sees as a ploy to contain its influence.
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Mr Biden's trip comes at a "pivotal moment" as he seeks to demonstrate US leadership in the region.
"He'll have the opportunity to reaffirm and reinforce two vital security alliances, to deepen two vibrant economic partnerships, to work with two fellow democracies to shape the rules of the road for the 21st century," said Mr Sullivan.
