The Korea Times
For many Americans, especially in the Trump era, alliances are increasingly judged by one question: What does America get out of them? That is a fair question. The answer is that the alliances with South Korea and Japan are not acts of generosity. They are among the most cost-effective strategic investments the United States has anywhere in the world. The old language of “shared values” and “historic friendship” still matters, but it is no longer enough. If Seoul and Tokyo want to remain central to Washington’s strategy, they must frame the alliance not as something America should preserve for moral reasons, but as something that directly serves American interests. South Korea and Japan are not simply beneficiaries of American protection. They are forward operating platforms for American power in the Indo-Pacific. Without Japan, the United States would struggle to sustain naval and air operations across the Western Pacific. American bases in Japan allow rapid access to the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the Korean Peninsula. Without South Korea, the United States would f
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