The United States announced July 15 that it plans to hold joint military
exercises with South Korea. The announcement came a week before scheduled
military talks between North Korea and the United Nations.
|
S. Korean soldiers in joint miltary exercise, 2006 |
Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said exercises will take place in
the Yellow Sea, located between China and the Korean Peninsula. Exercises will
also be held in the Sea of Japan, off the
eastern coast of Korea.
The announcement came despite
warnings from China against the exercises near its coastal waters.
“Having a U.S. aircraft carrier participating in joint military
drills off of China’s coast would certainly be a provocative action toward
China,” warned the Global Times, an affiliate of the Communist Party’s People’s
Daily.
Chinese People’s Liberation Army Deputy Chief of Staff Ma
Xiaotian said that China “strongly opposes the drill in the Yellow Sea because
of its close proximity to the Chinese territorial waters.” (Epoch Times, July
8)
North Korean
officials said the exercises are aimed at preparing for a war of aggression and
that it is critical to block the actions to defend peace and stability on the
Korean Peninsula.
Morrell, however, arrogantly
dismissed all criticism.
“Where we exercise, when we
exercise, with whom and how, using what assets and so forth, are determinations
that are made by the United States Navy, by the Department of Defense, by the
United States government.” (Agence France Presse, July 15)
U.S. and South Korean officials have been discussing the matter
since late March, following the sinking of South Korea’s warship the Cheonan,
blamed on North Korea. Due to increasing
political pressures, however, the exercises have been repeatedly delayed.
Reports of the exercises did not surface until early June, because
U.S. officials wanted to wait until after the U.N. Security Council issued a
statement regarding the Cheonan.
The Security Council issued a
notably ambiguous statement July 9, probably a sign of deference to the
increasing political clout of China. While the agency unanimously condemned the
alleged North Korean sinking of the Cheonan, it stopped short of directly blaming North Korea.
Despite accusations from the West, however, prominent South Korean
leaders have repeatedly stated that the sinking of the Cheonan had absolutely
nothing to do with North Korea. South Korean Defense Minister Kim Tae-young,
National Intelligence director Won See-hoon and Rear Admiral Lee Ki-sik, marine operations head at the South Korean
joint-chiefs-of-staff, have all stated that North Korea was not responsible for
the sinking of the Cheonan.
“We closely watched the
movement of the North’s vessels, including submarines and semi-submersibles, at
the time of the sinking,” said Admiral Lee. “But military did not detect any
North Korean submarines near the country’s western sea border.” (JoongAng
Daily, April 2)
The exercises are only one
component of U.S. military strategy in Asia. In an effort to increasingly
contain the rise of China as a global power, the U.S. intends to shift military
assets from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
The U.S. Navy announced in June
that four newly equipped submarines were deployed from U.S. ports for the first
time. Each vessel has 154 Tomahawk cruise missiles and 60 special-ops troops
and is capable of hitting anything within 1,000 miles.
Three of the submarines have
been sent to Asia: the USS Ohio to the Philippines; the USS Michigan to South
Korea and the USS Florida to Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. (Time, July 8)
The U.S. aircraft carrier USS
George Washington is also ready to be sent to South Korea.
