On August 22, South Korean K-9 self-propelled howitzers entered the exercise position.
According to Yonhap News Agency, from August 22 to September 1, South Korea and the United States held a joint military exercise of "Eulji Freedom Shield". This is the second large-scale joint military exercise held by the two countries since 2017, which has aroused widespread concern from the outside world. Some analysts believe that the move of South Korea and the United States will aggravate regional tensions.
After 5 years of "renaming and resurrection"
Since 1968, the South Korean government has held an annual "Eulji" exercise. In 1975, the exercise was merged with the "Focus Lens" exercise organized by the "United Nations Army" Command in South Korea to form the "E-Focus Lens" exercise, and from 1978 onwards, it was organized by the newly established Rok-U.S. Joint Command. In 2008, the exercise was renamed the "Eulji Freedom Guard" joint command post exercise, and together with the "key decision" and "vulture", it was known as the three joint military exercises of South Korea and the United States.
Around 2018, South Korea's Moon Jae-in government pursued a policy of dialogue and reconciliation with North Korea, and the Trump administration in the United States negotiated with North Korea on denuclearization, and tensions on the peninsula eased. South Korea and the United States temporarily shelved the three major joint military exercises, including the "Eulji Freedom Guard", and replaced them with smaller exercises such as the "Alliance" series. Later, affected by the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the command post exercise was greatly reduced, and the joint training of field maneuvers was basically stopped. Yonhap News Agency said that the joint military exercise launched by South Korea and the United States with the new code name "Eulji Freedom Shield" means that the "Eulji Freedom Guard" exercise, which was suspended after 2017, is also a field live mobile exercise that South Korea and the United States have resumed for the second time in 4 years.
Analysts pointed out that the "resurrection" of the "Eulji" exercise is closely related to the change of regimes in South Korea and the United States and the change of their policies toward the DPRK. When Yoon Seok-yue, a representative of South Korea's conservative forces, ran for president at the beginning of this year, he repeatedly attacked the Moon Jae-in government for suspending south Korean-US joint military exercises and other reconciliation measures against north Korea, and he said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal in March that if he won the election, he would negotiate with the United States to resume the scale of joint military exercises as soon as possible. When he took office in May, Yoon Seok-yue again stressed the need to "re-normalize the ROK-U.S. joint exercise to increase deterrence against North Korea."
In this regard, the other leading party of the exercise, the United States, is happy to see it succeed. As one of the important pillars of the US-ROK alliance, the series of joint military exercises are also an important starting point for the United States to intervene in regional affairs. Since the Biden administration came to power at the beginning of last year, it has continuously brought the "iron triangle" relationship between the United States, Japan and South Korea closer, trying to create a solid forward deterrent position in Northeast Asia. Taking advantage of the opportunity to resume the US-ROK joint military exercise can not only highlight respect for allies, adjust and strengthen the joint defense posture of the United States and South Korea, but also meet the needs of the current US Indo-Pacific strategic layout.
Introduce the concept of "national total war"
South Korean media said that since August 16, South Korea and the United States have held a four-day crisis management exercise. As a preparatory part of the joint military exercise, the exercise mainly envisages how to enable the ROK and THE US militaries to grasp the steps of crisis management when there are signs of war on the Korean Peninsula and avoid the crisis from turning into war. The official exercise began on August 22, and the first phase was a defensive exercise, focusing on the implementation of "transition to a wartime system and repelling the North Korean attack" and the defense of the metropolitan area; The second phase is a counterattack exercise, focusing on counter-attack operations. In addition to the command post exercises and 11 joint live exercises, including regimental-scale field maneuvers, the ROK and the United States also conducted a "full operational capability" stage assessment in accordance with the "conditional transfer of wartime combat command plan." Although both South Korea and the United States called it a "routine defensive exercise," the Associated Press believes that the exercise focused on testing the "pre-emptive" strike capabilities and large-scale ground offensive capabilities of the ROK and U.S. militaries, which are highly offensive and deterrent.
It is worth noting that the exercise south Korea for the first time introduced the concept of "national total war". South Korea's JoongAng Ilbo said that this means that all resources and means can be used to confront each other in the fields of diplomacy, intelligence, military and economy. On August 22, South Korea simultaneously launched the "Eulji" civil defense exercise, which was mainly led by government departments, including more than 4,000 institutions, including local enterprises, and more than 480,000 people participated. In addition to setting up traditional courses such as how government agencies respond to joint strikes, deliver ammunition and fuel to front-line troops, and dismantle weapons of mass destruction, the exercise also aims at new operational styles in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, such as responding to drone attacks, protecting the safety of nuclear power plants, airports and ports, and resisting cyber attacks on key facilities such as chip factories and supply chain enterprises. On the day of the start of the exercise, Yin Xiyue said at the cabinet meeting that the comprehensive implementation of government exercises and military exercises is aimed at adapting to the changing war pattern and improving the country's overall combat capability.
Opposition from many sides is strong
In response to the restart of large-scale joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States, the South Korean people reacted strongly. On August 13, at least 6,000 people in downtown Seoul attended an anti-American rally, with protesters holding balloons or banners such as "Anti-War Exercises" and "Against the United States" and demanding the cancellation of the joint military exercise between South Korea and the United States and "the dissolution of the ROK-U.S. alliance and the withdrawal of U.S. troops in South Korea." On August 22, South Korea's "founders of peaceful reunification," "June 15 Joint Declaration, the Korean Practice Committee," and the "National Federation of Democratic Labor Unions" held demonstrations again, calling for the suspension of the rok-U.S. joint military exercises. The "founder of peaceful reunification" issued a statement saying that the military exercise may intensify the military confrontation between the ROK and the DPRK and the United States, aggravate the tension on the Korean Peninsula, and be detrimental to the progress of peace and denuclearization on the peninsula.
The Dprk warned that if the ROK continues to provoke trouble, threaten the security of the DPRK and increase military tensions, it will pay a corresponding price for its actions. On August 17, North Korea test-fired two cruise missiles. Analysts pointed out that unlike previous missile tests during joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States, north Korea has advanced the test time this time, which is considered to be a signal of strong dissatisfaction.
Kwon Ki-sik, a former researcher at the Center for Asia-Pacific Studies at Hanyang University in South Korea, believes that there must be no further war on the Korean Peninsula, and that South Korea and the United States should not hold joint military exercises that have sparked tensions on the peninsula, but should strive for dialogue with North Korea. The actions taken by the United States to aggravate tensions for its own selfish interests will push the world into a "new Cold War," which is not conducive to the stability of the world order and the economic development and normal exchanges of various countries.
Source: China National Defense Daily