US- Korea Defence Ties: Looking Beyond the Binaries
The US-ROK friendship is considered as a relationship forged in blood by many Koreans and Americans. This relationship was strengthened by the Former US president Barack Obama at G20 London Summit, where he mentioned that South Korea has become one of America’s ‘closest allies and greatest friends’. At the end of the Korean War, the United States of America and the Republic of Korea signed the Mutual Defense Treaty in 1953, which has evolved the US-ROK relationship into a security arrangement in East Asia. Like any other relationship, the US-ROK defense ties have also faced several ups and downs. Despite many highs and lows, both nations have stood beside each other through thick and thin.
Background
The US-ROK relations go back to the era of the Cold War. Even before the cold war, the USA forged ties with the Joseon dynasty and both countries signed the Treaty of Peace, Amity, Commerce, and Navigation or the Shufeldt Treaty in 1886. At that time, the USA became the first western country to have a treaty signed with Korea. The treaty covered various subjects like the exchange of diplomatic representatives, extraterritorial jurisdiction, merchants, vessels, rights of residency, protection of citizens, etc., and remained in effect until the annexation of Korea by Japan in 1910.
During the cold war, the USA formed a network of bilateral alliances with South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan under the “San Fransisco system” or hubs-and-spokes system. The United States served as the hub and the spokes were the US-Japan mutual defense treaty (1951), the US-ROK defense treaty (1953), the US-ROC security treaty (1954) (Cha, p. 174). Instead of having multilateral alliances like the SEATO in the Southeast Asian region, the US chose to have tighter bilateral alliances with countries in the East Asian region. The bilateral alliances gave the US an upper hand and the ability to exert control. For example, South Korea’s President Syngman Rhee wanted to unify the Korean peninsula by force. When the USA began armistice negotiations during the Korean War in 1953, President Rhee opposed that decision. Furthermore, he even declared that the ROK would fight alone against China, North Korea, and the Soviet Union. Thus, the USA found it necessary to forge a bilateral relationship with South Korea to restrain President Rhee’s adventurism.
According to Victor Cha, the US alliance with South Korea served three functions. Firstly, the alliance provided an opportunity for military installations that would deter the Soviet threat in the Pacific. Secondly, the alliance committed to protecting South Korea from a second North Korean attack by allowing the US troops to serve on Korean soil. Lastly, the alliance restrained South Korea from engaging in risky adventurism (Cha, p. 174). Hans M. Kristensen and Robert S. Norris write that the US protected both South Korea and Japan under its “nuclear umbrella”. At the height of the Cold War, America deployed nuclear weapons in South Korea from 1958 to 1991. In 1967, it was believed that South Korea had approximately 950 nuclear warheads. Hence, under the mutual defense treaty, the US could contain the Soviet Union or China directly through its allies in East Asia.
The dissolution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in 1991 removed the Soviet threat but created new challenges. Now, the alliance solely defends South Korea from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) or North Korea. On October 9, 2006, North Korea successfully detonated its first plutonium-based nuclear device and emerged as a greater challenge to maintaining peace in the Korean peninsula.
US troops in South Korea
According to the US Department of State, there are over 28,500 U.S. military personnel stationed in South Korea, who work along with the ROK military and the United Nations Command member countries (2021). The US forces in South Korea make up for America’s third-largest military presence outside its country after Japan and Germany. South Korea’s Defence White Paper states that the US Forces Korea (USFK) “operates 90 combat planes, 40 attack helicopters, 50 tanks, and 60 Patriot missile launchers” in South Korea (Shin & Lee, 2021). Moreover, there are about “19,500 army soldiers, 7,800 airmen and women, 350 Navy soldiers, and 120 Marines stationed in South Korea” (Shin & Lee, 2021). The largest US overseas military base is Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Seoul. It is also the USFK headquarters that houses thousands of troops and their families. Army Garrison Yongsan, Camp Walker in Daegu, and air bases in Osan and Gunsan are other major stations of US troops in South Korea (Shin & Lee, 2021).
In 1966, South Korea and the USA also signed the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) that laid down rules related to stationing US troops in South Korea. According to Article V of the agreement, it would be the USA, who would “bear all costs for US troops’ maintenance, except those to be borne by South Korea that included furnishing and compensating for facilities” (Shin & Lee, 2021). The two countries have also signed Special Measures Agreements (SMAs) to determine South Korea’s contribution in sharing the costs of maintaining troops. In September 2021, both countries came up with a new SMA that will last until 2025. Under the new SMA, Seoul will pay “1.183 trillion won ($1.009 billion) in 2021” to station American troops in South Korea (Yonhap, 2021).
Implications
As a result of strong defence ties, both South Korea and the United States support each other in difficult times. During the Vietnam War, South Korea sent troops to Vietnam in exchange for increased economic and military assistance from America. In 2004, South Korea also dispatched a small contingent of troops to Iraq. Both the US and South Korea have conducted annual joint exercises, called “Max Thunder” since 2009. Recently in August, North Korea issued a warning over US-ROK joint military exercises and has also fired a long-range cruise missile in September.
The US has also played an important role in working together with both Japan and South Korea towards their common threat North Korea. It is not possible to maintain peace in the region without the involvement of the important players of the region i.e., South Korea and Japan. However, both countries share a complicated history of animosity that affects their current relations. South Korea and Japan have unresolved issues over their colonial past that include comfort women, Dokdo island, forced labor, etc., and make it hard for the two countries to cooperate in the present times. Despite this fact, the United States has put efforts to bring Japan and South Korea under a military intelligence-sharing pact or GSOMIA (General Security of Military Information Agreement) to settle their differences and work towards sharing information about North Korea’s military and nuclear activities.
America is South Korea’s security partner whereas China is Korea’s economic partner. However, due to the Sino-US rivalry, it becomes difficult for South Korea to balance the two countries. After North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test in 2016, the US decided to deploy Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System (THAAD) that can intercept and destroy incoming ballistic missiles from North Korea. Even before THAAD became operational in May 2017, China began expressing its opposition. According to China, THAAD could be used by America to intercept Chinese missiles and spy on its territory (claims were denied by the USA). To challenge America’s influence over South Korea, China used its economic leverage and temporarily closed Korean stores throughout China, citing the excuse of inspection failures. China also unofficially banned tour groups from visiting Korea and targeted K-pop stars and Korean car companies. As China is South Korea’s biggest economic partner, any economic decision taken by China deeply hurts South Korea. Thus, South Korea’s economy was impacted negatively during the THAAD issue. Such US-China rivalry also puts South Korea in a dilemma regarding Indo-Pacific, where the US wants South Korea to join the Quad that is considered ‘anti-China’ by Beijing.
Over years, there have been incidents that have sparked anti-American sentiments among Koreans. For example, after the end of the Korean War, there was a sudden increase in the number of prostitutes or “juicy bars” working near the US military camps. Also, in 2002, a 50-ton US army vehicle killed two 14-year-old South Korean schoolgirls in Yangju. Moreover, during THAAD deployment, many people protested against the US army for jeopardizing their lives due to radiation from radars and for ruining their economic partnership with China.
Nonetheless, the US-ROK mutual defence treaty is serving both countries for decades now. South Korea has been able to deter a second attack from North Korea and the region has become peaceful than before. According to David S. Maxwell, the treaty has also bought some time to South Korea to focus on its economy. As the security side is taken care of by the US, South Korea could focus on its economy and become one of the leading economies in the world. However, the recent “messy” US retreat from Afghanistan has raised eyebrows in South Korea. Although America’s national security advisor, Jake Sullivan has clarified that the US does not have any intentions of withdrawing forces from South Korea, few Koreans are still questioning America’s commitment to South Korea. These doubts can be due to former president Trump’s “America-First” policy and demand for South Korea to pay a larger share of the cost of the US troops. Although such a thing is not foreseeable in the near future, South Korea has already started working on its military modernization. Currently, the US is also focusing on the Indo-Pacific region and would not do anything that could discourage South Korean participation. For now, the US-ROK ties are thriving and expanding to cover other regional and global issues such as the pandemic, climate change, and many more.
Pic Courtesy-Daniel Bernard at unsplash.com
(The views expressed are those of the author and do not represent views of CESCUBE.)
