The U.S. inched further away from the Indo-Pacific this week, abruptly reducing its involvement in military exercises with South Korea and relocating an aircraft carrier from Asia to the Middle East.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that the U.S. would “substantially reduce” its involvement alongside South Korea in the “Ulchi Freedom Shield” exercises, originally scheduled for August 17–27.
Trump said that the exercises are “costly” and “send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile” to North Korea, a country that has been “unthreatening and respectful.” (Pyongyang has test-launched 11 suspected ballistic missiles so far this year; the most recent launch occurred last Wednesday.) Trump also noted that South Korea wasn’t willing to aid the U.S. in its attacks on Iran.
‘If you don't like what’s being said, change the conversation’
Trump is dipping into his first-term playbook: in 2018, he suspended military activities with South Korea as a concession to North Korea, following a summit with Kim Jong Un. At the time, he used the same justification, saying: “We will be saving a tremendous amount of money. Plus, it is very provocative.” Trump and Kim haven’t met since 2019.
It’s also possible that Trump simply wants to ‘change the channel.’ A Monday Reuters/Ipsos poll found that Trump’s approval rating has fallen to 33 per cent — the lowest of his presidency — partly due to U.S. strikes on Iran.
APF Canada Northeast Asia Program Manager Jeehye Kim told Asia Watch that the order “stems from Trump’s need to divert attention from Iran but is more of a warning to South Korean President Lee Jae Myung than an attempt to woo Kim.”
“The wording and timing of the announcement reflect subtle difficulties in the U.S.–South Korea relationship,” she said, “namely, Trump’s dissatisfaction with the slow pace of South Korea’s US$350-billion investment in the U.S. — pledged last year — and differences on the issue of Seoul regaining wartime operational control of troops from the U.S.”
In a separate move last week, the U.S. relocated the USS George Washington from the Western Pacific to the Middle East, relieving another aircraft carrier that’d been at sea for nine months.
This ‘reorganization’ of American military might is becoming a trend: after the U.S. attacked Iran in February, Washington “shifted dozens of missile interceptors and other assets from South Korea to the Middle East,” according to The Wall Street Journal. Roughly 28,500 U.S. troops remain in South Korea.
Lee, of course, has an interest in a denuclearized North Korea — Trump’s goal in 2018 — and has been less hardline in his approach to Pyongyang compared to his predecessor. On Sunday, Lee even proposed talks to formally end the Korean War, which was technically paused by an armistice signed in 1953. Pyongyang hasn’t responded to Lee’s overtures and, last year, labelled Lee’s vision for a denuclearized Korean Peninsula “little short of a naive dream.”
Ottawa's opening
Even in the uneasy aftermath of Ottawa’s decision to select Germany’s TKMS over South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean for its landmark submarine contract, Canada–South Korea defence ties are growing.
On Monday, HMCS Charlottetown arrived in Halifax, N.S., returning from a six-month deployment to the Indo-Pacific, where it contributed to Operation NEON, a multinational mission to enforce sanctions against North Korea. The vessel sailed more than 45,000 nautical miles, equal to roughly twice around the Earth at the equator.
This type of sustained engagement reflects a shift in Canada’s approach to the region and bodes well for future co-operation. APF Canada’s Kim says that the “U.S.’s unpredictability presents Ottawa an opportunity to rebrand itself as a reliable partner in countering North Korea, with expertise in cybersecurity and maritime surveillance.”
