Gen. Xavier Brunson, commander of United States Forces Korea, is seen at Four Seasons Hotel in Seoul, Jan. 26. Yonhap
The United States Forces Korea (USFK) issued a rare late-night statement denying Korean media reports that its commander, Gen. Xavier Brunson, had apologized for last Wednesday’s aerial standoff between U.S. and Chinese fighter jets.
“USFK conducts regular training to maintain the highest level of readiness and fulfill its missions. We do not apologize for maintaining readiness,” the statement said.
The denial came Tuesday night, hours after local media reported that Brunson had apologized for the U.S.-China confrontation near South Korea’s airspace on Feb. 18, the final day of the Lunar New Year holiday.
USFK also refuted claims that South Korea’s defense ministry had not been properly notified in advance of the drills. “Commander Xavier Brunson directly communicated with Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back to reconfirm that prior notification had been provided to the South Korean side regarding the incident,” USFK said. “However, we expressed regret over the failure to report the matter in a timely manner to the defense minister and the JCS chairman.”
The statement signals a troubling development in the Korea-U.S. alliance. It amounts to a public acknowledgment that Seoul and Washington were not fully aligned. It also suggests U.S. discomfort over differing accounts of the incident.
The situation is embarrassing for South Korea. Allies rarely contradict one another, at least publicly, typically opting instead for diplomatic language to shield differences.
Strains in the South Korea-U.S. alliance were predictable, if not apparent, after President Lee Jae Myung took office in June last year. Lee and U.S. President Donald Trump have sharply different approaches to China and North Korea.
Lee has pledged to improve relations with Beijing, noting that China is South Korea’s largest trading partner and a vital economic partner. He has also vowed to pursue engagement with North Korea to ease inter-Korean tensions, saying that he would create a situation where the two Koreas feel no need to fight.
Trump, by contrast, has centered his global strategy on countering China, pressing countries — allies included — to choose between Washington and Beijing. The era of balancing business ties with both powers, in this view, is over.
Source: Korea Times News
