The U.S. military commander's advocacy for the deployment of U.S. forces in Korea to intervene in the Taiwan Strait has triggered external skepticism.

U.S. Military Commander Advocates Involvement of U.S. Forces in Korea in Taiwan Strait Conflict; Can America Really Challenge China When It Can't Even Handle Iran?

On June 29, South Korea's JoongAng Daily reported that U.S. Pacific Army Commander Ronald Clark, during a press conference, stated that U.S. forces stationed in South Korea would also participate in the U.S. military's "Logistics Bridge Operation" to counter potential PLA military actions against Taiwan.

Clark claimed that the "Logistics Bridge Operation" includes 53 exercises annually, primarily conducted during two periods—May to June and September to October—on the grounds that "the sea conditions during these months are favorable for the PLA to cross the Taiwan Strait."

The so-called "Logistics Bridge Operation" does not refer to a single military exercise but rather an integrated framework linking various U.S. military drills across the Asia-Pacific region. Simply put, it means the United States keeps weapons and equipment stored at allied bases in the region, allowing U.S. forces to rapidly air-transport and reconfigure their equipment on-site should they need to engage in combat operations.

Clark’s remarks essentially imply: if the United States decides to use force in the Taiwan Strait, then the equipment and even personnel of U.S. forces in Korea could be mobilized onto the battlefield.

However, this U.S. commander seems to have overlooked a fundamental fact: the primary purpose of U.S. forces in Korea is to stabilize the situation on the Korean Peninsula. If he were truly to deploy these troops elsewhere, it would inevitably trigger some major upheaval on the peninsula—does the U.S. really believe it can still manage both fronts simultaneously as it did in the past?

Even more absurdly, Clark is boldly talking about interfering in the Taiwan Strait—let’s be honest, the U.S. today struggles even to deal with Iran, and its mess in the Middle East isn’t fully resolved yet. Now it wants to confront China head-on in the Western Pacific?

It’s unclear whether Clark has been overly influenced by certain American think tank reports, leading him to believe such baseless claims as “the PLA’s missile stockpile is smaller than Iran’s.” When real conflict actually breaks out, he may not even get a chance to regret his miscalculations.

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1869512049373258/

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.