U.S. expert says South Korea, Japan unlikely to reject Trump’s troop deployment request

[Financial News] As U.S. President Donald Trump has asked South Korea, Japan, Europe and others this month to send forces to the Strait of Hormuz, an analysis has emerged that, unlike Europe, South Korea and Japan will find it difficult to turn him down.

Zack Cooper, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research (AEI), made this assessment on the 18th (local time) during an appearance on a podcast hosted by another Washington think tank, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Regarding Trump’s deployment request, he said, "Unfortunately, I don’t think Japan and South Korea are in a position where they can just say 'no.'"

Since launching attacks on the Islamic Republic of Iran together with Israel on the 28th of last month, Trump has been pressuring countries that import oil through the Strait of Hormuz—a key route for global oil shipments—to send naval vessels to help escort tankers after Tehran moved to blockade the waterway. On the 14th, he formally requested troop deployments from five countries, including South Korea, China, Japan, the United Kingdom and France, and he repeated the same demand on the 16th. When European allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) effectively refused to send forces, Trump criticized them on the 17th and declared that he did not need help from South Korea or Japan either.

Cooper said he believes Seoul and Tokyo will ultimately have to answer "yes" to the deployment request, but added, "If you ask whether Japan is likely to send minesweepers for clearing naval mines, the answer is 'absolutely not.' Moreover, haven’t European countries already made it clear that they will not take part?" He went on to say that he expects Japan and South Korea "will have to provide some level of contribution."

Referring to activities such as refueling operations in the Indian Ocean, Cooper explained, "There may be ways for Japan to offer an appropriate level of support to the United States without exposing itself to the risk of direct attacks by the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Strait of Hormuz." However, he noted that because forces from United States Forces Korea (USFK) and United States Forces Japan (USFJ) are already being drawn into the Middle East, any decision by Seoul and Tokyo to provide support will be politically difficult.

Cooper also argued that the Trump administration’s Asia strategy has failed. He pointed out that even if countries like South Korea, Japan and Taiwan do not go that far, "for the Republic of Singapore, the Republic of Indonesia, Thailand and others, there is a 'Plan B'—if the United States proves unreliable, they will, if not fully, at least move closer to aligning themselves with China."

On the same program, Kristi Govella, a senior fellow at CSIS, mentioned the U.S.-Japan summit to be held at The White House on the 19th and said, "The agenda is shifting because of the Iran situation, and the discussion is now about what Japan can contribute and what it will contribute." She predicted that the meeting "could, in a sense, serve as a litmus test of loyalty." Govella said Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae is likely to try to make Trump understand Tokyo’s difficult position and to look for ways to assist him while avoiding excessive political costs at home.

In this context, Govella argued that there are many ways South Korea and Japan could contribute to the United States. For Japan, she mentioned options such as joining the U.S. next-generation Golden Dome missile defense system or helping produce missiles to replenish stocks depleted in the war with the Islamic Republic of Iran.

 


pjw@fnnews.com Park Jong-won Reporter