The nominee for a senior U.S. defense post has raised questions about the durability of the trilateral partnership among South Korea, the U.S. and Japan, citing the political situation in Seoul. 

Elbridge Colby, the nominee for under secretary of defense for policy, mentioned the subject Tuesday during a confirmation hearing at the Senate Armed Services Committee.  

Asked about the potential for a NATO-like alliance in the Indo-Pacific region, Colby said he thinks his country’s trilateral partnership with South Korea and Japan is “encouraging,” but that it’s not clear whether the partnership will be an enduring one, considering South Korean political dynamics over the past six to eight months. 

Colby said he is not against such an alliance in theory, but that he is skeptical. 

The nominee continued that the region may be building up toward more multilateralization but not on the scale of a NATO equivalent.