U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that China's pursuit of hypersonic weapons increases tensions in the region. Austin made a statement in Seoul on Thursday after annual security talks with his South Korean counterpart.
The defense chief said the U.S. is concerned about China's military capability and called Beijing our pacing challenge. He said the U.S. will keep its capabilities to defend and deter against a wide range of threats from China to ourselves and our allies. The South Korean and U.S. defense chiefs met on Thursday for their annual talks, as Washington pushes to strengthen alliances with partners to curb growing challenges from China and North Korea's nuclear threats.
After the talks, the allies were expected to announce a boosting of their decades-long military alliance.
Some experts say the alliance still faces challenges such as Seoul's historical disputes with Japan, another key U.S. regionalally, and its hesitation to join U.S.-led initiatives targeting China.
The U.S. ROK Alliance is the linchpin of peace and security in this region, and we will work together as we move toward a FreeandOpenIndoPacific, Austin tweeted on Wednesday in South Korea, referring to a regional initiative aimed at countering China's growing assertiveness in the region.
The Pentagon released the results of a global posture review that directed additional cooperation with allies and partners to deter potential Chinese military aggression and threats from North Korea earlier this week. The review also informed Austin of the permanent stationing of a previously rotational attack helicopter squadron and artillery division headquarters in South Korea.
The Security Consultative Meeting between Austin and South Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook is the first between the two countries defense ministers since President Joe Biden took office in January.
Under Biden's predecessor, Donald Trump, the alliance, forged in blood during the 1950 -- 53 Korean War, was tested as Trump threatened to pull U.S. troops out of South Korea if Seoul did not increase its financial support for them. Trump has complained about the cost of regular military drills between Washington and Seoul.
In recent years, the U.S. and South Korea have also canceled or decreased some of their military drills to support now-dormant nuclear diplomacy with North Korea and to protect their troops from COVID 19, and have also canceled or downsized some of their military drills. North Korea has called such drills an invasion rehearsal and responded with its own military exercises or weapons tests.
Despite severe economic hardships, North Korea has rebuffed U.S. offers to resume talks, saying Washington must abandon its hostility toward the North. The Biden administration maintains that international sanctions on North Korea will stay in place unless the country takes concrete steps toward denuclearization.
North Korea s state media on Thursday cited leader Kim Jong Un as saying the North's economy has been stably managed with successes in its agriculture and construction sectors, a claim that can't be independently confirmed. It said North Korea will hold a key meeting in late December to determine its policy objectives for next year.
South Korea has been reluctant to join the U.S. regional initiatives to check China's rise because its export-driven economy relies heavily on China, its biggest trading partner. Seoul's diplomatic and trade spats with Japan, largely due to Tokyo's past colonization of the Korean Peninsula, have compounded the prospects for a U.S. push to strengthen its trilateral security cooperation with its two key Asian allies.
A US-sponsored show of alliance with South Korea and Japan stumbled last month after American diplomats couldn't convince their Asian allies to share a news conference stage following their meeting in Washington due to a dispute over islets claimed by both South Korea and Japan.
Washington is looking for Seoul to do more beyond the Korean Peninsula, which would involve cooperation with Japan despite tensions over history, and contribute to Asia's maritime security despite objections from China, said Leif-Eric Easley, professor at Seoul's Ewha University.
If South Korea can join its regional security initiatives with the U.S. and bolster its alliance with the US will be a big factor, according to experts.
Lee Jae-myung, the ruling liberal party candidate, favors pragmatic diplomacy between Washington and Beijing, while his main conservative rival Yoon Suk Yeol has said he would strengthen security cooperation with Washington and Tokyo to cope with North Korean threats.