People Power Party lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo said Wednesday that South Korea should deploy troops to the Strait of Hormuz to "rebuild a strong South Korea-US alliance that goes beyond an alliance of exercises and responds together to real crises."
Ahn made the remarks in a Facebook post, calling on the government to "begin the National Assembly consent process and push forward with the deployment, premised on troop safety and a clearly defined mission scope."
He said the Lee Jae Myung administration had for the first time officially mentioned a "military contribution plan" for ensuring freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, and said the government was also reportedly considering deploying maritime patrol aircraft, logistics support vessels and mine-detection equipment.
Ahn said he had called for a Hormuz deployment immediately after the outbreak of the Iran war in March, noting that troop safety and a clearly defined mission scope were essential prerequisites. "South Korea is more dependent than other countries on crude oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz — this is an existential issue involving our ships and energy sovereignty, and it was an opportunity to develop the South Korea-US alliance from one of 'dependence' to one of 'mutual contribution,'" he added.
He also warned that, given President Donald Trump's "package diplomacy," a passive response could invite economic and trade pressure at a time when South Korea had failed to keep its promises of US investment in exchange for tariff reductions. "Those concerns have become reality. President Trump criticized South Korea's 'No thanks' and said he had ordered a significant reduction in joint South Korea-US military exercises," Ahn said.
Ahn said the Lee Jae Myung administration had "wasted five months, shaken alliance trust, and only then woken up to reality — belatedly moving to open public debate on a military contribution." He said South Korea should use the Hormuz deployment as leverage to negotiate expanded rights to build nuclear-powered submarines and to enrich uranium and reprocess spent nuclear fuel.
mp1256@heraldcorp.com
