Mend a knife: advise South Korea, aircraft carrier or not to build it!

Before the South Korea US military exercise began, it was reported that the United States had a negative attitude towards the assessment of the return of wartime command. Question marks have also been drawn about the cost performance of aircraft carriers and how much help South Korea can achieve the dream of “a big navy”. In general, South Korea and the United States hold joint military exercises in spring in March and in summer in August. Because of the epidemic situation, this spring military exercise was postponed and eventually cancelled. The summer exercise, which was supposed to be held in early August, was also postponed to the 16th. Before the start of the exercise, a South Korean personnel was confirmed to be infected with Xinguan. After emergency consultation between the two sides, the two sides had to postpone it for another two days until the 18th. for 5 consecutive days, more than 100 new confirmed cases were reported in South Korea on a single day. A South Korean Epidemic Prevention official said that the epidemic is spreading from Seoul, Gyeonggi province and other capital areas to all parts of the country at a “terrible speed”. Even the South Korean military, 18 also reported two new confirmed cases. The official rhetoric of South Korea and the United States is to “improve the capability of wartime crisis management and the ability to carry out comprehensive war tasks” and maintain the military combat readiness. Another analysis said that the US side wants to maintain pressure on North Korea and force Pyongyang to return to the negotiation table. For Seoul, the special feature of this year’s exercise, which is different from other joint military exercises in the past, is that the South Korean and US military will prepare for the transfer of wartime operational command. after the Korean War in 1950’s, the military command of South Korea was controlled by US troops stationed in South Korea for a long time. In 1994, South Korea regained command in peacetime, but it was still in the hands of the US military in wartime. According to the negotiation between South Korea and the United States, the transfer time of wartime command is set to be after 2020. Before Seoul takes back its wartime command, it needs to undergo three stages of assessment: first, basic operational capability, second, full operational capability, and third, capability to perform mission successfully. last year, Han Jun completed the first stage evaluation. At present, many people in South Korea hope that the two-stage assessment will be completed in the joint military exercise in August this year and in the next year. In this way, South Korea can regain its wartime operational command by 2022.

, in moon Jae in the eyes of other progressive political figures in Korea, will be a key factor in maintaining contact with the DPRK and resolving the Peninsula issue. At least, it can enhance the behavior space of South Korea as a directly related party to the Peninsula issue, and reduce the constraints of the United States. However, the United States also cooperated with the joint military exercise under the unusual situation. However, it has been reported that it is difficult to deploy troops under the epidemic situation and the scale of the exercise has been reduced as an excuse, and its attitude towards promoting the assessment work has been negative. The latest time was in July last year, when South Korean general Pak hanki told the Joint Chiefs of staff meeting between South Korea and the United States that South Korea would build a 30000 ton light aircraft carrier. Just last month, Seoul also announced that it would order at least 20 F-35B fighters from the United States, which is believed to be in preparation for the construction of an aircraft carrier. in addition to its small size, the configuration is relatively simple due to its low cost. For example, if it will not be equipped with ejection device and sliding deck, the payload and range of F-35B fighter will be limited; the lack of fixed wing early warning aircraft and refueling aircraft will affect the operational efficiency of aircraft carrier, etc. Since the 1990s, the ocean has become more and more important to the Korean economy. South Korea is surrounded by the sea on three sides and has a coastline of more than km. Most of its large and medium-sized cities and industrial bases are located in coastal areas. China also relies heavily on sea transportation for its strategic materials. as early as two years ago, in 2018, Japan proposed to transform the “cloud class” helicopter destroyer to carry F-35B fighters and become a de facto light aircraft carrier. US media reported in June this year that the refitting work was nearly completed. Although they are both allies of the United States, South Korea and Japan have long had disputes over historical issues and territorial disputes. South Korea has always regarded Japan as the object of competition. Since last year, Japan has squeezed South Korea in semiconductor material export, economy and trade, as well as international community participation, which has intensified Seoul’s “tit for tat” momentum. Some scholars in South Korea say that the construction of an aircraft carrier will help enhance South Korea’s military strength. In this way, it can not only improve its position in front of the United States, but also block Washington’s mouth and prevent the other side from delaying the handover of command power to South Korea on the pretext of insufficient capability. a basic common sense, in the dangerous environment without systematic support, the actual combat strength and survival ability of a light aircraft carrier will be worried, and it is easy to become an “expensive floating target”. The U.S. national interest website published an article three years ago saying that North Korea may be developing an anti aircraft carrier missile. At that time, the designated target was of course the United States, but if the South Korean aircraft carrier was built, it would naturally be “cuddling grass and beating rabbits”. Let’s just talk about fighters. What Seoul needs most now is not the short-range take-off and vertical landing planes on aircraft carriers, but to increase the number of the fifth generation f-35a fighters as soon as possible, because “there are only half of Japan’s in Korea now.”. A domestic scholar in South Korea commented that South Korea’s “throwing money” at the aircraft carrier may not really need it, but rather to buy American weapons in exchange for Washington’s early return of wartime command. Taking into account the pressure of the United States in sharing defense costs, the South Korean aircraft carrier program is not a purely “military strategy”. on the other hand, if the South Korea US alliance has one more aircraft carrier, even if it is light, it will naturally cause the concern of neighboring countries, especially in the context of “the United States increases its containment against China”. Some analysts say that there will be a general election in the United States in two or three months. As soon as the U.S. general election is over, South Korea will also enter the campaign propaganda stage of the next election, and the contents discussed by both sides may change at that time. The rationality of building the first aircraft carrier is also likely to be challenged in South Korea.