WASHINGTON — The commander of the U.S. Eighth Army, which leads American ground forces in South Korea, said it would be irresponsible for U.S. troops stationed on the peninsula to focus narrowly on threats there alone, signaling they could be mobilized in a Taiwan contingency. The remarks are seen as a direct confirmation of the Trump administration's drive to broaden the mission of U.S. Forces Korea, long centered on North Korea, to include countering China.
Lt. Gen. Joseph Hilbert, commander of the Eighth Army, made the comments in an email interview with Hong Kong's South China Morning Post on the 21st, saying it is irresponsible to argue that his troops cannot carry out other missions simply because they are based in South Korea. He also stressed that his soldiers must be ready to deploy off the peninsula if ordered to do so.
The Eighth Army, headquartered at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, commands U.S. ground forces in South Korea. It is the only American unit stationed on the Asian mainland in the Asia-Pacific region and the only permanently forward-deployed U.S. field army.
Hilbert said the Eighth Army is focused on fulfilling Washington's defense commitment under the South Korea-U.S. Mutual Defense Treaty, but argued that being based in South Korea does not confine its mission to the peninsula. The Eighth Army, he said, is part of a "global army" that trains to be deployed wherever national command authorities require, adding that any trained and ready unit capable of carrying out missions assigned by the Army can be committed against whatever threat requires it. He also said the force trains daily with its South Korean allies against the primary threat while maintaining readiness to respond to any situation the nation demands.
Since the Trump administration took office, Washington has repeatedly emphasized "strategic flexibility," under which South Korea assumes the primary responsibility for deterring North Korea while the United States concentrates on countering China, including a potential contingency in the Taiwan Strait. The U.S. National Defense Strategy released in January also stated that South Korea is capable of taking the lead in deterring North Korea with limited U.S. support, and outlined a plan to build a robust denial-based defense posture along the first island chain running from Japan through Taiwan to the Philippines.
Experts also predicted that the United States would seek to use South Korea as a logistics base in the event of a contingency in the Indo-Pacific. Lami Kim, Korea Chair at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, told the South China Morning Post that South Korea would likely provide logistical support to U.S. forces in a regional contingency, and that in a prolonged conflict the country's defense industrial base could also play an important role in replenishing American weapons stockpiles and sustaining U.S. military operations. Troy Stangarone, a senior fellow at the Korea Economic Institute of America, said South Korea plays a "critical role" as a logistics hub and is the only U.S. ally in the region with a defense industrial base capable of supporting American forces in a crisis. Earlier, Gen. Xavier Brunson, commander of U.S. Forces Korea, said at the Association of the U.S. Army's annual meeting in Washington on the 12th that the ability to sustain operations is especially important in a Pacific fight, citing the capacity to be self-sufficient inside the first island chain starting from South Korea. The concept of regional sustainment hubs, he said, means bringing those means of production into the theater.