Afghanistan crisis stirs debate over stability of South Korea-US alliance

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The Korea Times

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Tue, February 7, 2023 | 02:03

Afghanistan crisis stirs debate over stability of South Korea-US alliance

Posted : 2021-08-17 17:06

Updated : 2021-08-18 09:00

A U.S. Chinook helicopter flies over the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, to evacuate U.S. diplomatic personnel. AP-Yonhap

Korea faces questions over whether to prioritize self-reliant defense or US alliance

By Jung Da-min

In the wake of the crisis in Afghanistan following the withdrawal of U.S. troops, a debate has arisen among defense watchers here over the stability of the current South Korea-U.S. alliance and if Seoul should also prepare for a possible withdrawal of U.S. forces.

Some defense watchers, especially those in the country's conservative bloc, expressed concerns over a similar scenario occurring here, saying the country's military has been neglecting joint military exercises with U.S. troops under the Moon Jae-in administration, which has been focusing on an engagement policy toward North Korea.

But others said the situation here is different from Afghanistan, as Seoul has a strong military capability with support from a democratic government and has strategic value to the United States.

"The Afghan crisis, in which the Islamic militants took full control of Afghanistan, is the result of the government's incompetence, the incapacitated military and the cold-hearted nationalism of the international community," Rep. Kang Min-kuk, floor spokesman of the conservative main opposition People Power Party (PPP), said Tuesday.

"Unless its partner has strong defense capabilities and strong will for self-reliance, the U.S. could leave the partner to pursue its own national interests. The Moon Jae-in government and the military should do their best to strengthen the Republic of Korea-U.S. alliance and maintain a strong military, using the Afghan situation as a turning point."

The PPP spokesman said there are concerns over South Korea's military defense capabilities, as the South Korea-U.S. joint exercises have been conducted only in computer simulations for several years in order to support diplomatic efforts, such as North Korea's denuclearization. Kang said, "How can the military protect our people in an emergency without having practical experience?"

Armored vehicles and other military equipment are lined up at the U.S. military base in Dongducheon, Gyeonggi Province, Aug. 10, as the pre-training for annual Republic of Korea-U.S. joint military exercises begin. Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un issued a statement the same day to condemn the annual drill, calling it a hostile policy toward the North. Korea Times photo by Bae Woo-han

But Cho Han-bum, a senior research fellow at the Korea Institute of National Unification, said the situation in Afghanistan is different from that of South Korea, which is a country with a strong military capability with 600,000 of its own troops and ranked sixth out of 138 countries in terms of military strength on an annual list drawn up by Global Firepower (GFP).

"There are political intentions behind such views of linking the situations in Afghanistan and South Korea. Those with such views want to attack the ruling bloc as they believe the current government is pro-China and pro-North Korea when the alliance with the U.S. should be prioritized. But that is also wrong as Moon and U.S. President Joe Biden have vowed to elevate the Korea-U.S. alliance to a global alliance that goes beyond the Korean Peninsula," Cho said. The researcher also said the Moon administration has been committed to strengthening defense capabilities by increasing the defense budget more than under the previous conservative administrations.

But Moon Sung-mook, a senior researcher at the Korea Research Institute for National Strategy, said despite the differing situations of South Korea and Afghanistan, the Afghan crisis left a lesson to South Korea that it also needs to be aware of the possibility of a withdrawal of U.S. troops if the U.S. does not see the stationing of its troops here as part of its own national interests.

"I know there are people who say the U.S. would never leave South Korea because of its strategic importance when the U.S. wants to keep China in check. But aside from its strategic importance, if the government adopts an anti-U.S. policy and people here say they do not want U.S. troops in the country, they could withdraw from South Korea too," Moon said.

damin.jung@koreatimes.co.kr