Trilateral alliance only shores up tensions

As the world chews over the significance of the Group of 20 leaders' summit held in Brisbane, Australia on Nov 15 and 16, it may also want to take some time to reflect on the Australia-Japan-United States trilateral leaders' meeting held on the sidelines.

The trilateral meeting, the first since 2007, caught considerable media attention despite taking place outside the razzmatazz of the G20 summit's official and non-official programs, providing evidence of the implications the meeting might have on global and regional peace and security.

According to a US State Department news release, the three countries vowed, among a long list of endeavors, to deepen their military ties for the sake of promoting stability in the Asia-Pacific region. They also reaffirmed the global reach of their cooperation and the value of comprehensive US engagement in the region. Although they stopped short of mentioning an "alliance" or "military alliance", these solemn pledges can be interpreted as nothing but the strong political will, as well as a strategic arrangement, to strengthen their trilateral alliance.