ED For mutual benefits
Unilateralism could undermine bilateral alliance
A former commander of U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) has invited criticism over his recent remarks which were seen as belittling South Korea's defense capabilities. Robert Abrams, a retired four-star general, told Voice of America last week that South Korea's military capabilities were not sufficient to take over wartime operational control (OPCON) of its forces from the United States.
Abrams, who led the USFK from 2018 to 2021, expressed his opposition to the planned OPCON transfer. He is, of course, free to put forward his views on any defense issues concerning the two allies. But his remarks have raised questions about their relevance. He seemed to go too far in advocating only U.S. interests without considering the peculiar geopolitical situation facing South Korea.
He also claimed that the Moon Jae-in administration dismissed his repeated proposals to upgrade the joint South Korea-U.S. wartime operational plans to prepare for potential nuclear and missile attacks from North Korea. He pointed out that the Seoul government finally accepted the U.S. demand for the upgrade belatedly, on Dec. 2 at the annual Security Consultative Meeting (SCM).
In response, South Korean officials expressed their displeasure, dismissing his remarks as personal views. “While South Korea and the U.S. came up with tangible results from their latest Security Consultative Meeting through close coordination between the allies, we cannot figure out his intentions,” defense ministry spokesman Boo Seung-chan said.
Park Soo-hyun, senior presidential secretary for public communication, refuted Abrams' remarks indirectly by saying that South Korea has emerged as the world's sixth-strongest military power. “I am confident that the Moon administration has worked harder on boosting military capabilities than any other government, as illustrated by Korea being the world's sixth-most powerful military and its nurturing of the local defense industry,” he wrote on Facebook.
What Abrams said should not be used to start a dispute over the security alliance between Seoul and Washington. Both sides need to strengthen their joint wartime operational plans to better cope with the growing nuclear and missile threats from North Korea, as finally agreed upon at the latest SCM meeting. They also must make sincere efforts to implement the OPCON transfer plan, to which the allies agreed in 2014. Now it appears to be impossible for President Moon to keep his promise to complete the plan before his term ends in May 2022, due to a lack of adequate assessment on the conditions-based transfer amid the protracted COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, the U.S should not try to undo the plan.
Another problem is that Abrams wanted South Korea and the U.S. to work out a joint wartime operational plan to respond to potential military threats from China. Seoul, for its part, cannot accept such a plan because South Korea cannot serve as a frontline to help Washington contain a rising China. The Biden administration should understand its Asian ally's position that it has long relied on the U.S. for security, while depending on China for its economic growth. The alliance should be based on mutual respect and benefits. Any unilateral move will do more harm than good.