The US cancelled planned military exercises with South Korea just weeks after scaling back separate drills with Seoul’s forces, amplifying worries in Asia over American support.
The latest pullback was because of limited availability of US troops as a result of shortages caused by the Iran war; US President Donald Trump curtailed previous exercises in part over South Korea’s lack of support for the conflict.
Though the two countries insist they remain close partners, US allies in the region have voiced alarm over the moves, which analysts say raise questions over American commitment to seeing off a rising China. Beijing, for its part, is reportedly completing construction of an artificial island in disputed waters of the South China Sea.