At the end of 2019, the Special Measures Agreement (SMA) between the U.S. & South Korean expired. Now the money has run out and negotiations are at an impasse. This affects the future of the largest U.S. overseas military base and the U.S.-led security order in East Asia.
When the SMA expired, there was enough money to cover the base support needs until April 1, 2020—THAT’S TODAY. The ROK money has run out.
President Donald Trump wants President Moon to pay $5 billion for 2020, 5x more than South Korea paid in 2019. Amb. Bolton delivered President Trump's demand and the President hammered it home with Moon at the UNGA last September. Moon refused, viewing it as exorbitant.
Without an agreement, the U.S. military is furloughing ~$10,000 South Korean civilians. As base operations are affected, our ability to defend South Korea, Japan, etc., and to project power in the Pacific, will be affected. Not sure how China views this squabbling.
This is the same burden share argument we watched with NATO. Now it’s playing out in Asia. Both post WWII theaters and U.S.-led security orders. On top of this development, a South Korean worker at Camp Humphreys has tested positive for #covid.
