[Editorial] South Korea will not be a US outpost

On Monday, Gen. Xavier T. Brunson, the commander of US Forces Korea, burdened the geopolitical significance of the Korean Peninsula for countering the specter of China and Russia, mainly calling on Korea to function an outpost for preserving American hegemony.

The USFK commander additionally emphasised the benefits of collaboration between Korea, Japan and the Philippines, which might transcend the US’ present trilateral navy cooperation with Korea and Japan.

Maybe the US views the Korean Peninsula as a navy stronghold inside hanging distance of China. However People would do nicely to keep in mind that the peninsula can also be the cherished house of greater than 50 million allied residents.

One hopes that Brunson will chorus from any extra public calls for that US allies tackle unreasonable roles within the pursuits of supposed navy effectivity and can stick with his correct function of supporting the selections reached by the political leaders within the US and Korea.

“By rotating our customary north-up orientation [of East Asia] to position east on the high, a reworked strategic panorama emerges,” Brunson wrote in an article printed on the USFK web site on Monday.

“Forces already positioned on the Korean Peninsula are revealed not as distant property requiring reinforcement, however as troops already positioned contained in the bubble perimeter that the US would want to penetrate within the occasion of disaster or contingency,” he went on.

Brunson listed the distances between the US base Camp Humphreys, positioned south of Seoul, and Pyongyang, Beijing and Vladivostok earlier than remarking, “Korea is positioned to handle northern threats from Russia whereas concurrently offering western attain towards Chinese language actions within the waters between Korea and China.”

“From Beijing, American forces at installations like Osan Air Base seem not as distant threats requiring advanced energy projection, however as instantly proximate capabilities positioned to attain results in or round China,” he stated.

In brief, the USFK commander argued for turning the Korean Peninsula right into a launchpad that’s at all times out there for US navy contingencies.

Brunson additionally described “the emergence of a strategic triangle connecting Korea, Japan, and the Philippines” and talked about the benefits of “enhanced alliance cooperation.”

In 1950, Korea was excluded from what’s come to be often called the Acheson Line, a notional line of protection introduced by US Secretary of State Dean Acheson. That exclusion had tragic, devastating penalties within the type of the Korean Struggle.

Whereas we recognize the nice intentions of Brunson’s try and keep away from that error by emphasizing the Korean Peninsula’s strategic significance, he overstepped his purview as a soldier in making these remarks.

If his proposals have been realized, the Korean Peninsula could be lowered to a staging floor for USFK, and Koreans must metal themselves for retaliatory strikes from China and Russia. Moreover, the Korean navy’s vary of operations could be immediately prolonged to the South China Sea.

For Brunson, such musings could learn like an authentic “strategic suggestion.” However for Koreans, they’re a matter of life and dying.

Koreans can’t assist however tread fastidiously in such issues as a result of the Korean Peninsula is a strategic minefield — even with out tilting the map to 1 facet.

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