Feud Between U.S. Allies Deepens as Trump Sits on Sidelines
President Donald Trump’s desire to put “America first” has fostered new disputes between the U.S. and its allies. In Asia, old rivalries are also roaring back.
Ties between Japan and South Korea — two of the U.S.’s closest security partners — have arguably turned their most hostile in more than half a century over a series of diplomatic disputes. Now, there are signs that the feud, fueled by disagreements over Japan’s colonization of the Korean Peninsula decades ago, is beginning to damage economic and military relations between the neighbors.
During previous nationalistic flare-ups, U.S. administrations normally intervened to make sure such grudges don’t spin out of control. Not any more.