Decoding the US's tightening military cooperation with Japan and South Korea

Washington [US], July 30: The US has just strengthened bilateral military cooperation with Japan, while the two countries and South Korea have promoted trilateral defense cooperation.
Recently, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin held a security dialogue with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and Defense Minister Minoru Kihara in Tokyo. Through this 2+2 meeting, Washington officially upgraded the command structure in Japan by establishing a new joint command headquarters commanded by a 3-star general.
In addition, the two ministers Austin and Minoru, along with their South Korean counterpart Shin Won-sik, have just signed a memorandum of understanding on closer defense cooperation between the three sides, including maintaining policy consultations, information sharing and joint exercises.
New chapter for US - Japan?
Responding to Thanh Nien on July 29, Mr. Carl O. Schuster (former Director of the Operations Department of the Joint Intelligence Center - Pacific Command of the US Navy, currently teaching at the University of Hawaii - Pacific on international relations and history) analyzed: "The threats that Japan faces are becoming increasingly worrying. So the addition of personnel and command and control capabilities for US forces in Japan is understandable. But the real question is whether Washington will provide additional military resources for the joint command. The appointment of the commander of US forces in Japan as a 3-star general seems to demonstrate the consolidation of a command. Additional command and control rights and related authorities allow the commander to plan and direct large-scale reinforcement operations to be deployed if a crisis or conflict or war occurs."
But he also said it could be a more political move to send a message to China that Beijing's actions will only make Washington and Tokyo more closely cooperate to strengthen their military capabilities and be ready to send large additional forces. The next and equally important step is for Washington and Tokyo to show they can work together to strengthen their logistical capabilities in preparation for conflict.
Multi-benefit agreement
Regarding the US-Japan-Korea trilateral cooperation, Professor Stephen Robert Nagy (International Christian University - Japan, scholar at the Japan Institute of International Studies) assessed that this development stems from the consensus on the increasing importance of strengthening deterrence and cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region when the regional situation is challenging amid the rise of China. The trilateral cooperation is also a response to the tightening of relations between North Korea and Russia.
"Institutionalizing trilateral cooperation also involves locking down relations to prevent Donald Trump from returning to the White House, because Trump's "America First" tendencies may demand more conditions from Japan and South Korea," Professor Nagy further analyzed and said: "In addition, the incumbent leaders in Japan and South Korea are facing many domestic challenges. In that context, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol wants to have a legacy of contributing to strengthening security and relations. Similarly, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida also wants to have achievements to consolidate his domestic political position."
Similarly, responding to Thanh Nien , Professor Yoichiro Sato (international relations expert, Ritsumeikan Asia-Pacific University, Japan) said: "Trilateral cooperation is something that Washington has long expected. Since the time of President George Bush, when tensions on the Korean peninsula increased due to Pyongyang's nuclear programs, Washington has wanted to promote trilateral cooperation. Diplomatic coordination goes hand in hand with efforts to strengthen military cooperation between the three countries to strengthen the weakest link in the trilateral relationship, the Japan-Korea connection."
According to him, the US-ROK defense partnership underwent a major transformation in the early 2000s. The US military in South Korea was given more flexibility in terms of purpose and location of deployment, no longer limited to defending South Korean territory. The South Korean military also went to Afghanistan during the US-led war.
"Japan and South Korea have signed the GSOMIA (an intelligence sharing agreement) and the two countries have begun inviting each other as observers in their respective military exercises with the US. Japan-South Korea bilateral security cooperation based on UN peacekeeping operations has also been conducted in East Timor and South Sudan. Therefore, institutionalizing trilateral cooperation is expected to reduce fluctuations in bilateral relations between Tokyo and Seoul, which are highly dependent on the domestic political situation in South Korea," said Professor Sato.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper