In East Asia, where power-based diplomacy is concentrated, combined training and weapons expansion have taken a toll, and South Korea has made a sharp turn in favor of increasing arms.
The U.S. State Department announced on the 5th that it would sell $750 million of arms to Taiwan, including self-propelled artillery, in a statement to Congress, saying, "This arms sale will enhance Taiwan's ability to respond to current and future threats. Strengthen Taiwan's security and local politics. It will help maintain stability and military balance,” he said.
China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on the 4th in a press release that "military exercises will be held in the South China Sea from the 6th to the 10th."
Regarding the large-scale training of 36 ships and 50 units of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command from the 2nd to the 27th of the British, Australian, Japanese, British, Australian and Japanese military coalition, a defense ministry spokesperson said on the 6th of last month, “The U.S. still supports the one-China policy. “We do not want to unilaterally change the status quo, but at the same time we are focusing on ensuring that Taiwan has its own defense capabilities.”
Spokesperson John Kirby said on the same day that "apart from the Taiwan issue, the Ministry of National Defense seeks integrated deterrence through cooperation with South Korea, Japan, and Australia on regional issues."
Regarding the escalation of military drills, Chinese military expert Zhou Chenming said, “The US military has conducted many exercises in the Indo-Pacific region, but the possibility of escalating tensions in the region with this exercise is low.” That's why we need to prove our existence through this kind of training," he told the South China Morning Post (SCMP) on the 5th.
Regarding the joint exercises, he said, "There have been moves aimed at China in recent years, but they won't go too far and they won't intentionally touch the heart of China," he said.
In a joint statement on the 5th, 74 members of the National Assembly members with pan passports issued a joint statement demanding the conditional postponement of the ROK-U.S. combined military exercise, saying, “We used the postponement of the ROK-U.S. combined military exercise as a negotiating card for North Korea to take corresponding measures, and use the long-awaited dialogue opportunity to improve inter-Korean relations, denuclearize the Korean Peninsula and negotiate peace. We want to develop it to the next level,” he said, suggesting the postponement of the training as an exchange transaction with 'dialogue and denuclearization'.
Commander John Aquilino of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said on the 4th, “The two countries (South Korea and the United States) are pursuing the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula as a common goal. In the military aspect, the alliance with the United States and the power of the United States in the region are making it possible for the US government to pursue diplomacy from a position of strength. It is to make diplomacy come true,” he said in a video interview hosted by the Aspen Strategic Group.
Regarding the United States' 'integrated deterrence warfare', Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense Melissa Dalton in charge of strategy, planning and capability said at a hearing at the Congressional hearing on the '2022 fiscal year', "North Korea continues to produce fissile material for weapons and continues to develop and deploy nuclear weapons. is a threat to neighboring countries and the United States. NDS),” he replied in writing on June 10.
At a regular briefing on the 3rd, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said, "All decisions related to the U.S.-ROK combined military exercise are made in close consultation with our ally, South Korea."
Park Ji-won, director of the National Intelligence Service, said at the National Assembly on the 3rd, "North Korea is expected to prepare for the next move while closely monitoring the future discussions between the ROK and the United States and our response." On the 5th, 74 lawmakers from the Democratic Party and Justice Party, who have been leading the increase in armaments, announced a 'postponement' on the 5th.