I've been paying close attention to Asia for a long time. There are many border disputes over there. In the Far East, the US helps stabilize the regions such as Korea, the seas around Japan, the South China Sea, and the sea around Taiwan, whether directly through US military deployment or indirectly through just talks. This is leading to what's being seen as the growing rivalry between the two superpowers, the US and China.
On the other hand, there's something else that's not being mentioned by most people. What would happen if the US military left the Far East today? One thing is for certain is that there'd be a huge arms race between these Asian countries. We all know that China has the largest military in the world and China's military spending is growing. What's less known is that the neighboring countries around China also have large militaries when considering current world standards. http://www.globalfirepower.com/ And the military spending of the two countries, South Korea and Japan, are actually quite high in current world standards (contrary to them being percieved as free loaders on US tax payers). In fact, South Korea pays a huge amount each year for the US military over there. http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/...A0B01S20140112 And South Korea's military size is quite high, too. Thus, it's clear that these countries have the incentive for more military spending if it becomes necessary. South Korea's main concern is North Korea, which has an even larger army. Japan has border issues with China and Russia and has been demanding the two South Korean islets. China and Vietnam have gone to war with each other https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sino-Vietnamese_War, (which may come to the surprise of many outsiders). Nowadays, China is trying to expand further to the South China Sea by building artificial islands over there. Now what will happen if the US leaves? Japan will certainly feel the need to raise military spending due to the rivalry with China. Would this be a good thing for China? How would Russia react to this?
Thus, I believe that deep down inside, China wants the US military to stay in the Far East because even China feels that the US military is a stabilizing factor. The North Korean government could be thinking the same despite what they've said for propaganda purposes.
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