Opinion: Trump shakedowns are threatening two key U.S. alliances in Asia (via latimesopinion)
The U.S. is moving toward a rupture with two important allies, South Korea and Japan. Already, President Trump has reportedly demanded a five-fold increase in the amount South Korea pays toward the cost of stationing U.S. forces there, raising the amount to $5 billion a year. Reports suggest that Washington is likely to seek a similar increase from Tokyo to support the cost of U.S. troops based there in next year’s negotiations.
South Korea has fought alongside the United States in every conflict since the Korean War. Seoul sent 300,000 troops to the Vietnam War, and 5,000 of its soldiers were killed. At one point, it fielded the third-largest troop contingent in Iraq after the United States and Britain. It has also conducted anti-piracy operations off Somalia and participated in peacekeeping operations in Afghanistan, East Timor and elsewhere.
Cost-sharing negotiations are always contentious, but the current circumstances are especially fraught. The administration has made excessive demands in a combative manner, needlessly straining relations with Seoul just as North Korea is growing more bellicose. This is a time when allies should be standing shoulder to shoulder, not bickering over money.A collapse of negotiations could cause Washington to withdraw some of its forces from the region. The U.S.
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