The United States will shift some of the burdens of defense to its allies, and will equip them to do so. Allied equipment: South Korea’s nuclear submarines.
Joanna Summers, host:
Here is a statement. Quote: “Gone are the days of the United States supporting the entire world order such as the Atlas system.” This claim comes from the new US National Security Strategy released this month. The document says that the United States will transfer some of the defense burden to its allies, and will prepare them for this. For one ally, the equipment means nuclear submarines for South Korea. NPR’s Anthony Kwon reports from Seoul.
ANTHONY KUHN, LINE: At the end of October, President Trump sat down with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung on the sidelines of a regional summit in the city of Jeonju. Lee presented the case to Trump for obtaining nuclear submarines.
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PRESIDENT LEE JAE-YUNG: (Through translator) The limited underwater range of diesel submarines limits our ability to track submarines on the North Korean or Chinese side.
COHEN: That was a blunt observation, as South Korea is usually careful not to suggest that it might use its military against China. He added to me…
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LEE: (Through translator) These submarines can conduct defensive operations in the waters surrounding the Korean Peninsula and greatly reduce the burden on American forces.
COHEN: President Trump approved Lee’s request. South Korea says the two allies will sign a treaty allowing the possession of submarines. But South Korea’s underwater ambitions still face challenges. North Korea is building its own nuclear-powered submarines, possibly with Russia’s help. Then there is the debate over whether the United States or South Korea should build submarines. President Trump has suggested they be built in shipyards in Philadelphia, but the South Korean Defense Minister and others have questioned whether they have the necessary manpower, experience and infrastructure. Retired South Korean Navy Captain Yoon Suk-joon argues for purchasing submarines.
YON SOOK JUN: (Through translator) I have a somewhat negative view on building our nuclear submarines, which requires a large investment of time and money.
COHEN: Yoon also says submarines aren’t necessarily the best option for deterring North Korea, because the waters around the Korean Peninsula are too shallow for submarines to move without being detected.
The United States has ideas about what to do with submarines. Admiral Darrell Caudle, chief of naval operations at the US Navy, spoke about this during a visit to Seoul last month.
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Darrell Caudle: I think using that submarine against China is a natural expectation. With that kind of capability, I think the United States expects to partner, again, and work as a coalition together to achieve our shared goals on what the United States sees as a threat to us, which is China.
Cohen: South Korea does not officially classify China as a security threat. The US move to supply South Korea with nuclear submarines is in line with the recently released US National Security Strategy. This document calls on the United States to arm its allies to confront its opponents while the United States focuses on the Western Hemisphere.
Kim Hyung-kyu is a political scientist and director of the Institute of Chinese Politics at Ajo University outside Seoul. He says the South Koreans don’t trust this shift in US strategy, and while they will take the submarines, it’s not just to help the US.
KIM HYUNG-KYU: (Through translator) In a new international order without the United States in the Western Pacific, South Korea needs a nuclear-based survival strategy. This is something that politicians, conservatives and liberals alike, are now realizing.
KHON: Kim says the United States faces three choices in Asia. First, it can defend its allies more assertively. Second, it could allow them to obtain nuclear weapons to defend themselves. Or third, it might let them fall into China’s sphere of influence. Kim says that Japan and South Korea do not favor the third option, and regardless of the United States’ ambitions in Asia, he sees its influence diminishing. So nuclear weapons are the only option left, and submarines are a step in that direction.
Anthony Kwon, NPR News, Seoul.
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