To strengthen US deterrence against North Korean threats, Washington said that an Ohio-class nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarine would visit South Korea in accordance with the Washington Declaration, a joint agreement issued by US President Joe Biden and by South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol during the latter’s six-day state visit to the US.
This has everything to do with security in the Taiwan Strait. Washington has worked to win Seoul over. The US has been providing assistance and aid to improve South Korea’s military, and one of the reasons for doing so is to deter the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Since the end of World War II, the US has concerned itself with the Northeast Asian region. When the Korean War broke out in June 1950, US forces in Japan significantly contributed as part of the UN armed forces.
Since then, US troops have stayed in the Korean Peninsula. The US military presence in the region has affected not only the growth of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces in the south, but also the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s nuclear development in the north.
In recent years, particularly since former US president Barack Obama’s administration, the US has strategically rearranged its forces according to its pivot to Asia policy.
In the face of tensions between South Korea and North Korea, Washington has increased its military deployment in the Korean Peninsula to counter the CCP.
US-South Korea joint military drills are held on a regular basis. The collaboration between the two countries is no longer purely militarily, as it used to be in the post-Cold War era.
Instead, the US has taken advantage of its relations with South Korea to advance US interests in Northeast Asia. Relations between the two Koreas have been under the influence of Washington as well.
A closer look at the Korean Peninsula reveals the US’ strategic arrangement.
First, if the conflict in the Korean Peninsula intensifies, the US’ presence there would allow it to gain more leverage from the six-party talks (China, Japan, North Korea, Russia, South Korea and the US).
Second, the US is sending clear signals to its rivals in Northeast Asia: the CCP and Russia.
Third, the US is trying to exchange benefits with North Korea to curb China, with an aim to obtain a military advantage.
Fourth, through mechanisms derived from joint military drills in the region, the US can sell more weapons to two of its important allies, Japan and South Korea.
Fifth, the US intends to limit the development of nuclear weapons in Northeast Asia to anti-ballistic missiles. The purpose is to maintain its strategic advantage on the Northeast Asian frontlines, and at the same time contain the CCP’s military expansion outward.
Sixth, the US has been preparing to deploy its second fleet in a South Korean naval base, to keep an eye on the CCP’s fleet and prevent it from navigating across the Pacific Ocean.
After the Cold War ended in 1990, the strategic plans of the US have worked in tandem with its pivot toward Asia, which has been applied to the Northeast Asian region to contain the CCP.
Meanwhile, Washington has exploited historical problems and unresolved business between East Asian countries, bringing them closer to the US.
The US armed forces all over the world, particularly in Europe and Asia, have been arranged by Washington to hold joint military drills. Such collaborations have significantly contributed to US interests, allowing it to obtain more leverage and consolidate its influence over its allies.
Unfortunately, Taiwan cannot be part of the talks on North Korea’s nuclear issue. However, Taiwan must make its anti-nuclear stance loud and clear in all possible international occasions, demonstrating and emphasizing its principle of fighting for peace.
In the meantime, Taiwan should observe the US’ nuclear deployment and strategic arrangement in Northeast Asia. Taiwan can become a key player among the world’s multiple superpowers competing in Northeast Asia.
Chang Yan-ting is a retired air force lieutenant general and an honorary emeritus professor at National Tsing Hua University.
Translated by Emma Liu
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