Guest writer

Need to recommit

U.S. relations with Asia pivotal

Earlier this month, I traveled to East Asia to consult with many foreign leaders and U.S. military commanders. But the most poignant meeting I had was with a young Korean soldier.

Sgt. Ha Jae-heon lay in a hospital outside Seoul, both legs bandaged after a double amputation. Days before, Sgt. Ha was conducting a routine patrol in the Demilitarized Zone along the de facto border with communist North Korea when he and a second soldier stepped on land mines recently placed by North Korean troops.

As we spoke, he wasn't filled with bitterness, but eagerness to recover and return to his unit in the DMZ. His uniform, freshly pressed, hung above his bed.

Sgt. Ha's spirit reminded me of wounded American soldiers whom I've visited in Walter Reed. They all wanted to rejoin their battle buddies on the front lines of freedom.

That shared commitment to freedom is one reason why the United States has such deep ties in East Asia, where rising tensions could severely harm U.S. interests. I spent 10 days as part of my oversight work on the Armed Services and Intelligence Committees visiting Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, three of our closest partners.

I met with heads of government, defense ministers and foreign ministers. I spoke with trade ministers about reducing barriers to Arkansas exports. I visited the regional sales office of Tyson Foods to hear more about trade prospects in Asia. I observed joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises and visited the DMZ. And I toured U.S. military bases in Okinawa and South Korea to speak face-to-face with the brave troops--including young Arkansans--defending our interests in the Pacific.

I left Asia with a deeper understanding of three main themes.

First, there's growing alarm among our partners over China's aggressive and destabilizing behavior in the region. Japan confronts China's baseless claims to large parts of the East China Sea's skies, waters and land features. Taiwan, still viewed as a "renegade province" by China, faces a growing air, naval and missile threat across the Taiwan Strait. Further, China inflicts the pettiest indignities on Taiwan. It is speculated that Beijing intimidated Nepal into rejecting Taiwan's offer of earthquake-relief assistance, and warned Malaysia against signing a free-trade agreement with Taiwan. Meanwhile, China is South Korea's largest trading partner, yet also the main patron of its most dire threat in North Korea.

Second and closely related, there's a strong desire among our partners for more U.S. leadership and engagement in the region. Japan is nearing an historic reinterpretation of its constitution that would allow its military to assist allies abroad--including the United States. This would help check Chinese adventurism. Likewise, Japan is the largest negotiating partner of the U.S. in the 12-country Trans-Pacific Partnership trade talks.

Elections are approaching in Taiwan, where all parties across the political spectrum believe that Taiwan's relationship with the United States is essential to preventing war with China and preserving Taiwan's democracy. In South Korea, its government is largely funding a multibillion-dollar base-construction project to relocate U.S. troops outside the range of North Korean artillery, while also seeking to build upon the U.S-Korea Free Trade Agreement by further reducing trade barriers in the future.

Finally, the unrelenting threat of a nuclear North Korea reinforced the absolute necessity of stopping any more rogue regimes from getting nuclear-weapons capability. Because of North Korea's growing nuclear arsenal, South Korea has very limited options to respond to provocations like the recent land-mine attack. In essence, South Korea must de-escalate tensions or move immediately to total war. Anything else risks a nuclear strike.

Likewise, U.S. forces in South Korea face the same strategic dilemma and must therefore maintain a very high state of readiness--"ready to fight tonight," as they often say. This is especially true now that North Korea may be able to strike not only South Korea and allies like Japan with a nuclear-armed missile, but also the United States--including Arkansas.

The U.S. made a terrible mistake in 1994 when we struck a flawed nuclear deal with the Kim regime in Pyongyang, an agreement too weak to stop North Korea from obtaining nuclear-weapons capability in a mere 12 years. We must not make the same mistake with Iran's ayatollahs today.

Since World War II, East Asia has seen incredible growth in prosperity and liberty. Japan was once a mortal enemy. South Korea was once devastated by war. Taiwan had been under colonial rule. With American support, all three have emerged as full-fledged democracies with advanced economies, and strongly supportive of U.S. interests in the region.

This history wasn't preordained, nor is the future. The United States and these countries are closer than ever because of steadfast American commitment.

After returning from the region, I am more convinced of our need to reaffirm that commitment. We have to rise to gathering challenges and preserve our position as the foremost power in Asia.

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Tom Cotton is the junior U.S. senator for the state of Arkansas.

Editorial on 08/27/2015

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