On August 22, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expressed the United States’ disappointment with the Japan-Korea relationship following South Korea’s decision to withdraw from the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) at a joint press conference with his counterpart in Ottawa, Canada. GSOMIA is a military intelligence sharing agreement between Japan and Korea that was initiated on November 23, 2016.
South Korea decided to withdraw from GSOMIA because of Japan excluding South Korea from ‘white list’. Many speculated that it is a reaction against the South Korean Supreme Court sentencing Japan companies to compensate South Korean involuntary laborers of World War II .
According to Dr. Roland Wilson, a professor of Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University Korea and the co-director of the Peace and Conflict Studies Center Asia, the ROK-US-Japan military cooperation will be weakened as a result of South Korea’s withdrawal, and will create difficult challenges for the alliance. This is because “a jeopardy of ROK-U.S.-Japan military cooperation impacts negatively on Indo-Pacific strategy” and is a beneficial for “North Korea, China and Russia.”
In order to stabilize the trilateral relationship, Dr. Wilson suggested an “exit strategy for ROK-U.S.-Japan Military Cooperative.” He mentioned measures such as “diagnosis and prescription of Korea-Japan dispute,” “trilateral summit hosted by president Trump,” “trilateral intelligence exchange conference,” and “special envoy consisting of U.S. congressmen” as specific means to successfully implement the exit strategy.
The U.S. posits that they will raise military costs and reduce join military drills unless South Korea and Japan come to an agreement as soon as possible.
Written by Yuhyun Sihn | Staff Writer
Comments