Biden warned of the beginning of an era of "significant political change"

US President Joe Biden warned of an era of political turmoil as he held his final meeting with key Asia-Pacific allies ahead of Donald Trump's imminent return to power.
"We have now reached a moment of significant political change," Biden said as he met with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yool at the APEC summit in Lima.
Biden said it would likely be his last meeting with the trilateral group, which he has promoted over the past year as a firewall against North Korea and an increasingly assertive China.
But he added that the partnership is "built to last. That is my hope and expectation," AFP reported.
Biden also warned of North Korea's "dangerous and destabilising cooperation with Russia" amid growing concerns that nuclear-armed Pyongyang is sending troops to fight in Ukraine.
The White House said the three leaders would announce the creation of a secretariat to formalize the alliance, launched last year at the Camp David summit.
"We're going to focus on making sure that we've institutionalized the Trilateral so that it's an enduring feature of American policy," National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters traveling with Biden.
Sullivan indicated he also expects it to survive Trump's second term.
"We fully expect that it will continue under the next administration - though, of course, they will make their own decisions," he said.
Biden's trip to the APEC summit in Peru and the G20 summit in Brazil next week was completely overshadowed by Trump's victory over Democrat Kamala Harris in the US presidential election last week.
Trump's "America First" agenda threatens to break American alliances, as it did in his first term, although the Republican's designation of China hawks in his cabinet means he may still want to rely on Seoul and Tokyo.
Biden is due to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the APEC summit on 16 November. | BGNES