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Post by Admin on Nov 12, 2019 2:46:30 GMT
The U.S.-South Korean alliance is strained by their differences over military pacts, and if the allies fail to reach agreements, Seoul’s national security could be at risk, experts said. The pressure stems from two military agreements nearing expiration: Seoul’s intelligence sharing pact with Tokyo, set to expire Nov. 23, and Seoul’s defense cost sharing deal with Washington, expiring Dec. 31. “There’s a lot of pressure on the alliance right now,” said Bruce Bennett, a senior defense analyst at the Rand Corp. research center. “Because of that pressure, the alliance is not quite as strong as it’s been at some points in the past.” Seoul has been refusing Washington’s demands to reverse its decision to terminate an intelligence-sharing pact with Tokyo. Withdrawal from GSOMIA In August, Seoul announced it would withdraw from General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) with Tokyo. That came during a trade row that broke out in the summer, a disagreement rooted in South Korea’s historical grievances over forced labor during the Japanese colonial period from 1910 to 1940. Washington sees GSOMIA as a crucial vehicle for its two allies to share sensitive military information, such as threats from North Korea or to communicate during a crisis. “The U.S. government has ratcheted up considerable public pressure on South Korea not to go through with its GSOMIA nonrenewal decision,” said Scott Snyder, director of the Program on U.S.-Korea Policy at the Council on Foreign Relations.
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Post by Admin on Nov 12, 2019 21:14:17 GMT
The US is applying intense pressure on South Korea to extend its General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) with Japan, which is set to end at midnight on Nov. 23. Following visiting US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs David Stilwell’s message stressing GSOMIA’s importance in a meeting last week with South Korean government officials, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper is expected to push forcefully for a GSOMIA extension when he visits Seoul this week to attend a South Korea-US Security Consultative Meeting (SMC) on Nov. 15. In a Nov. 10 dinner with the leaders of the five major political parties, South Korean President Moon Jae-in signaled that he did not intend to make any hasty concessions without Japan first withdrawing its export controls. “With something like the GSOMIA issue, it’s a matter of principle,” he stressed. But Washington appears poised to keep up its pressure and argue for a postponement of the agreement’s termination going forward. Why is the US pushing so hard for a GSOMIA extension? This is impossible to explain without considering the larger picture of its “Indo-Pacific strategy.” GSOMIA is essential for progress in trilateral South Korea-US-Japan military cooperation that is a key component of the US strategy for containing China’s influence. “The US’ key aim is to get South Korea to participate fully in its Indo-Pacific strategy, and it needs to keep GSOMIA in place and substantially increase [South Korea’s] share of defense costs as part of that,” said Cho Sung-ryul, a research consultant for the Institute for National Security Strategy. “The US’ demands regarding GSOMIA and defense costs are not its top priority. Washington’s main concern is South Korea’s full-scale participation in its Indo-Pacific strategy,” he argued. A South Korean government official said, “The reason so many senior US officials are visiting South Korea and campaigning hard for a GSOMIA extension is because GSOMIA is just that important to the Indo-Pacific strategy.”
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Post by Admin on Nov 13, 2019 2:14:54 GMT
Indo-Pacific Strategy gives Japan priority over S. Korea The US’ previous strategy for East Asia positioned the US itself at the center with South Korea, Japan, and Australia acting as “spokes.” Fundamentally, South Korea and Japan were on an equal footing. The Indo-Pacific strategy, in contrast, involves a framework where the US, Japan, India, and Australia form a “quad” hemming China in from all sides, while South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Vietnam, and others are included as lower-level partners.
Under this framework, the US-Japan alliance becomes upgraded to a global alliance. In pushing through security-related legislation, Japan’s Shinzo Abe administration increased its potential for intervention on the Korean Peninsula by concocting the concepts of “situations of major influence” and “existential threat,” with an eye on direct intervention if war breaks out. Under this system, Japan would need to receive initial military information on North Korean nuclear missile launch activity through GSOMIA to attack preemptively in a scenario of imminent armed attack by the North.
GSOMIA canceled but pushed through against under Park admin. Discussions toward a GSOMIA arrangement between South Korea and Japan first began in October 2010 when the Japanese Foreign Ministry proposed signing GSOMIA and an acquisition and cross-servicing agreement (ACSA) in the wake of North Korea’s long-range space rocket launch and two nuclear tests in April and May 2009. The two sides agreed to sign GSOMIA on June 27, 2012, but while the agreement was approved by the South Korean Cabinet, it ended up being overturned amid negative public opinion and controversy over its secretive pursuit. On Nov. 23, 2016, the Park Geun-hye administration made another push and ultimately forced GSOMIA through.
Within the broader scheme of things, GSOMIA is seen as essential as a military intelligence sharing framework for trilateral missile defense to perform its role as a key axis in the Indo-Pacific strategy targeting China. While the Trilateral Information Sharing Agreement (TISA) with the US only specifies the sharing of information regarding North Korean nuclear missiles, GSOMIA effectively allows for unlimited sharing of all military information.
The US has reportedly demanded that South Korea declare its full-scale participation in the Indo-Pacific Strategy starting with the SCM on Nov. 15 -- insisting that South Korea clearly state its intent to take part in a unified front against China. The pressure to extend GSOMIA also appears poised to reach a fever pitch at the SCM. Washington’s demands for a large increase in South Korea’s share of defense costs also reportedly reflect expenses related to the Indo-Pacific strategy.
Cho Sung-ryul argued, “South Korea needs to first demand a concrete list from the US in terms of how it is supposed to participate in the Indo-Pacific strategy, examining it closely and choosing only those areas that are acceptable.
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Post by Admin on Nov 18, 2019 3:11:08 GMT
The defense ministers of South Korea, Japan and the United States met Sunday to discuss their differences regarding the intelligence-sharing pact between Seoul and Tokyo, amid concerns that the ongoing row might weaken the trilateral security alliance. Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo and his Japanese counterpart, Taro Kono, held bilateral talks and met with their US counterpart in a separate trilateral meeting, both of which took place on the sidelines of the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting-Plus in Bangkok. During the bilateral talks, Jeong and Kono reiterated the positions of their respective governments on the General Security of Military Information Agreement, according to Seoul’s Defense Ministry. Regarding GSOMIA, “we rehashed our positions. What is important is more can be done (on this issue) on the diplomatic side, so I asked to support the diplomatic efforts,” Jeong told reporters after his meeting with Kono. Japan imposed a series of trade restrictions on South Korea several months after Seoul’s top court ordered several Japanese companies to compensate Korean wartime labor victims in October 2018. Viewing the move as retaliation, South Korea announced that it would not renew GSOMIA in August. While Tokyo wants to renew the agreement, Seoul has maintained it will only reconsider its decision if Japan normalizes trade.
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Post by Admin on Nov 21, 2019 19:58:53 GMT
The South Korean government will not reconsider its decision to terminate its military information-sharing agreement with Japan unless Tokyo compromises over its export controls applied to South Korea, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Thursday.
At the same time, the South Korean government will make efforts to avoid the expiration of the General Security of Military Information Agreement, or GSOMIA, until the last minute, Kang said at a National Assembly committee meeting.
The pact is set to expire at midnight on Friday (3 p.m. GMT).
The South Korean presidential office started discussions on GSOMIA on Thursday at a meeting of the standing committee of the National Security Council, according to South Korean media reports.
The South Korean government is expected to make a final decision as early as Thursday on whether to allow the bilateral pact to expire.
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