Are we still allies?

By Oh Young-jin

Often, understanding the United States proves to outsiders ― allies included ― as frustrating as a blind man relying only on his tactile sense to imagine what an elephant looks like.

Such a comment came Monday when visiting U.S. Republican Senator Dan Sullivan of Arkansas was quoted by Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam as saying that the Korea-U.S. alliance serves as a “linchpin” for peace and stability.

“Really?” with an incredulous question mark would and should be the first response from most Koreans.

Give Sen. Sullivan the benefit of the doubt and it would be apparent that he doesn’t understand the feelings of Koreans about the ally it believes is a blood-sealed brother, having come to its rescue during the 1950-1953 Korean War and keeping the unpredictable and bellicose North Korea at bay.

From Sullivan’s Republican Party, its presumptive presidential candidate Donald Trump has wreaked havoc on the alliance. The billionaire loose cannon called Korea a nation of free riders, giving the insulting impression that this country is leeching the U.S. taxpayers for its own defense. Then, he talked about fixing the current free trade agreement (FTA) with Korea because Korea proved to be the sole beneficiary.

First, the usual litany of excuses doesn’t wash. Trump couldn’t eat all the bizarre words he has spoken as a candidate, when and if he wins the November election and becomes president. Even if he inhaled all the hot air he exhaled during the campaign, the damage could be irreversible.

Regarding the shared burden of U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), which has 28,000 American troops stationed here, the formula has been set through bilateral negotiations, with the American portion being understood as fees for using Korea as a tripwire blocking China’s southern advancement and deep-freezing Pyongyang, itself bent on developing nuclear weapons and long-range missiles. Should President Trump want Korea to foot the entire bill, it would be time to conduct a bottom-up review of the two countries’ alliance. Emotionally maybe, but bear in mind that there is a limit even with such a close ally as the U.S. Besides, Korea wouldn’t terribly resist taking into account the need for a bigger share, if the U.S. acted in a respectable manner. Trump makes the U.S. out to be a churlish bully.

About the FTA, it was settled during the presidency of Republican George W. Bush and was renegotiated and signed by his Democratic successor Barack Obama. Now, even the Democrats are jumping on the isolationist Republican bandwagon ― attacking the treaty, ratified by the National Assembly and Congress, from all sides.

Ambassador Mark Lippert is leading an effort to open Korea’s legal services market while also tackling our pharmaceutical market. Trump wants to renegotiate, while his likely Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, is also competing to say that there are bound to be changes in the pact if she becomes president. Meanwhile, the U.S. Trade Representative hopes to maintain the current bilateral trade pact.

Then, Obama’s recent visit to Hiroshima acted as a wedge. It’s laudable for him to try to free the world of the fetters of nuclear weapons. But here, memories of Japan’s brutal occupation remain fresh even after the passage of 70 years. Obama was perhaps too engrossed in the heat of the moment to say out loud that the nuclear attacks were the result of Japan’s aggression and those killed and maimed were the victims of its failed leadership. Ironically, his visit has freed ultranationalist Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his ilk from the atrocities it had committed. Human rights are one of two pillars of U.S. foreign policy, with nonproliferation being the other. For sure, Obama’s visit didn’t help much on human rights.

Whether intended or not, his visit was seen as a big favor to help boost Abe’s legitimacy in undoing safety measures to keep Japan from having aggressive ambitions again. Seen from here, more pieces are falling into place, indicating that the U.S. and Japan are closing ranks even further on a grander scale to encircle China and gain an advantage in the ongoing hegemonic war that will only get worse.

This can revive the tragic past when Korea was sandwiched between big powers in the previous centuries and subjugated by Japan as the result of competition and negotiations among them. Now, we are trying to tell which U.S. is more real ― one that collaborates with Japan to maintain its regional control or the honest broker that we have known it as. Depending on the answer, Korea needs to make preparations.

Oh Young-jin is The Korea Times’ chief editorial writer. Contact him at foolsdie5@ktimes.com or foolsdie@gmail.com.