[Yang Nak-gyu's Defense Club] Will the US Choose Japan Over Korea for Joint Military Exercises?

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yang Nak-gyu] The United States and Japan are significantly strengthening their joint military exercises. While the South Korea-U.S. joint exercises were postponed due to concerns over the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) domestically, joint exercises with Japan?where COVID-19 cases are also high?have instead been increased, raising concerns that the focus may be shifting from the South Korea-U.S. alliance to the U.S.-Japan alliance.

On the 27th of last month, the South Korea-U.S. military authorities postponed the joint exercises that were scheduled to begin on the 9th of this month due to the spread of COVID-19. It is reported that the U.S. side expressed the view that since joint exercises are directly linked to military readiness, they should proceed normally even if the schedule is adjusted. When South Korea-based U.S. forces were reported by domestic media to have proposed the postponement, they immediately denied the claim, showing a sensitive reaction.

Through a joint statement, South Korea and the U.S. explained, "General Park Han-ki, Chairman of the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, first proposed postponing the exercises, and General Abrams, Commander of the Combined Forces Command and U.S. Forces Korea, agreed after understanding the COVID-19 situation."

This is the first time in history that the South Korea-U.S. joint exercises have been postponed due to an infectious disease. The South Korea-U.S. joint exercises began in 1954 under the United Nations Command as the Focus Lens exercise. This marks the first case where an infectious disease has affected the 66-year history of the South Korea-U.S. joint exercises.

The issue is that the military authorities have completely suspended all outdoor training nationwide as the COVID-19 crisis alert was raised to the "serious" level. Although the military authorities plan to continue small-scale battalion-level joint exercises despite the postponement of the larger South Korea-U.S. joint exercises, even this remains uncertain. Battalion-level joint exercises are scheduled to begin immediately from April. South Korea and the U.S. are planning joint mine warfare training, joint rescue training, joint submarine training, joint anti-submarine warfare training, and maritime special operations (MC-SOF). Additionally, the South Korea-U.S. Marine Corps is preparing for the tactical unit-level outdoor maneuver exercise called "KMEP" (Korea Marine Expeditionary Program). The KMEP exercise is an annual small-unit joint training program conducted by U.S. Marine Corps battalion-level and smaller units stationed in Okinawa, Japan, together with South Korean Marine Corps units in locations such as Pohang.

Military officials evaluate that COVID-19 has demonstrated the potential for serious impacts on national security. This is why there are calls to expand the traditional security concept?which focused only on threats from North Korea?to a comprehensive security concept that includes non-military threats such as terrorism, cyber threats, and diseases like COVID-19, and to actively seek military response measures according to each type of threat.

While the U.S. has canceled a series of South Korea-U.S. joint exercises, it has decided to steadily continue joint exercises with Japan.

General Kevin Schneider, Commander of U.S. Forces Japan, said at a press conference hosted by the Japan National Press Club on the 25th of last month that regarding North Korea, "It is necessary to maintain the readiness of the combined joint forces until final, fully verified denuclearization (FFVD) is achieved," and added, "The United States and Japan must be prepared to respond to any provocations from North Korea."

When asked about the possibility of adjusting exercises due to COVID-19, General Schneider explained, "The U.S. and Japanese governments and the Indo-Pacific Command are implementing thorough quarantine policies in coordination, and the Cope North exercise, involving the U.S., Japan, and Australia, is currently underway," adding, "Since the outbreak of COVID-19, various joint exercises have been conducted in Japan without adjustments, and planned joint exercises have continued without interruption."

From the 12th to the 28th of last month, the U.S., Japan Self-Defense Forces, and Australian forces conducted the large-scale annual joint air military exercise called Cope North. The exercise involved about 2,000 personnel and approximately 1,000 aircraft.

Moreover, U.S.-Japan joint exercises have been steadily increasing. According to the Japanese Defense White Paper, the Japan Self-Defense Forces conducted a total of 38 joint exercises (lasting 406 days in total) with U.S. forces over the past year. Compared to 26 exercises (lasting 286 days) in 2016, this represents an increase of over 40%. Since 2018, solo exercises between the U.S. and Japan have also been conducted.

A representative exercise is the live-action exercise named "Keen Sword." This exercise began in 1985 and has been conducted annually, alternating between live-action and command post exercises. It is similar to the South Korea-U.S. exercise Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG). In 2018, it was conducted on the largest scale, with 47,000 Japan Self-Defense Force personnel, 20 ships, and 170 aircraft participating, while the U.S. dispatched 10,000 troops, the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan, and numerous ships and aircraft.

Since 2018, U.S.-Japan joint exercises have also been conducted to prepare for North Korea's ballistic missile threats. These are joint integrated air defense exercises. On the Japanese side, participants included the Joint Staff Office (JSO), Western Army of the Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF), Fleet Command of the Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF), and Air Staff Office of the Air Self-Defense Force (ASDF). On the U.S. side, the Yokosuka-based 7th Fleet Command participated. The controllers were composed of the Japanese JSO Operations Director (Lieutenant General) and the U.S. 7th Fleet Commander (Rear Admiral).

In December of last year, the regular joint exercise between U.S. forces and the Japan Self-Defense Forces called the "Japan-U.S. Joint Task Force Command Post Exercise" (nicknamed "Yama Sakura") was held. Yama Sakura began in 1982 and is a joint exercise between the GSDF and the U.S. Army, simulating scenarios where an enemy lands on the Japanese mainland, focusing on guerrilla warfare and counter-terrorism operations in urban areas.

According to the GSDF, about 5,000 personnel from the Ground Staff Office, Ground Command, Eastern Army, Western Army, Training and Research Headquarters, Joint Staff Office, Maritime Self-Defense Force, and Air Self-Defense Force participated in this exercise, while approximately 1,600 personnel from the U.S. Pacific Army Command, U.S. Army Japan, I Corps, 40th Infantry Division, and 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade participated from the U.S. side.

Earlier this year, the U.S. and Japan navies conducted joint exercises in the East China Sea. The East China Sea is where U.S.-China hegemony clashes and where the Senkaku Islands?disputed between China and Japan?are located. This demonstrated the maximization of U.S.-Japan cooperation in a sensitive region. The exercise involved the U.S. Navy's latest amphibious assault ship America (LHA-6), the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman (CVN-75), and the amphibious command ship Blue Ridge (LCC-19).