US Alliances in the Indo-Pacific

General (Ret.) Vincent K. Brooks joined Stimson’s Security for a New Century’s (SNC) Korea Study Group to discuss the current state of U.S. alliances in the Indo-Pacific, with particular emphasis on the U.S. – ROK relationship.

The webinar was SNC’s first official Korea Study Group session, with a select group of Senate offices. Despite ongoing concern with COVID-19, the session allowed staffers to examine several developments and deeper trends in the U.S. relationship with and policy toward the Korean Peninsula and its place in the region. The questions and discussion covered a wide range of issues, including: rising nationalism in both the U.S. and South Korea; potential risks posed by a prolonged stalemate in the ongoing cost-sharing talks; comparative discussion of the U.S. relationship with the ROK and Japan, in terms of both force structure and burden sharing; distinct and often clashing cultural perspectives between allies and adversaries; the role of Congress in U.S. – ROK and U.S. – DPRK relations; pending issues such as the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON); and possible new ways forward in US-DPRK relations.

The webinar was moderated by Dr. Clint Work, Fellow for Stimson’s Security for a New Century and 38 North programs. The featured speaker was General (Ret.) Vincent K. Brooks, a career Army officer who retired from active duty in January 2019 as the four-star general in command of over 650,000 Koreans and Americans under arms.