A U.S.-led economic initiative for the Indo-Pacific region came a step closer to completion on Thursday as the 14 negotiating nations agreed on two of three remaining pillars, allowing their leaders to showcase a framework seen as a counter to China’s rise.
President Yoon Suk-Yeol stressed that his trip to the 2022 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Summit in Madrid, Spain, should not be interpreted as a move to contain a certain country, referring to China’s repeated claim that Seoul is joining NATO’s plan to strengthen its foothold in the Indo-Pacific region.
