The Economist - USA (2019-11-23)

38 Asia The EconomistNovember 23rd 2019

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A

merican dignitaries like to talk

about their country’s “ironclad”

commitment to its alliance with South Ko-

rea and Japan, which has long been the

main building block of the security archi-

tecture of north-east Asia. But when Gen-

eral Mark Milley, America’s representative

on the trio’s joint military council, last re-

affirmed that commitment on November

15th, his two fellow soldiers had plenty of

reasons to be sceptical. Donald Trump,

America’s president, has long complained

of the costs of military alliances, which he

thinks are a “bad deal” for America, and has

mused aloud about bringing troops home.

For months America has been pressing the

governments of Japan and South Korea to

provide more money to help defray the ex-

pense of deploying American troops to

their countries.

On November 19th South Koreans were

given yet more reason for doubt. Merely an

hour into a second day of talks about how

to divvy up the cost of stationing American

troops in South Korea, American negotia-

tors walked out. South Korea was “not re-

sponsive” to America’s request for “fair and

equitable” cost-sharing, said James De-

Hart, America’s chief negotiator. Jeong

Eun-bo, his South Korean counterpart, said

that although his country remained

committed to finding a mutually agreeable

solution by the end of the year, America’s

demands were unacceptable “in principle”.

South Korea’s foreign ministry said that

America had demanded a “drastic in-

crease” in the South Korean contribution.

This year South Korea paid about

$920m towards the cost of keeping Ameri-

ca’s 28,500 troops in the country, mostly to

cover the salaries of local staff and utility

bills for bases. That in itself marks an 8%

increase on the previous annual fee, to

which South Korea begrudgingly acqui-

esced after fraught negotiations last year.

South Korea also pays for military con-

struction. A new base outside Seoul was

built almost entirely by South Korea, at a

cost of about $10bn. Although America has

not made its demands public, it has report-

edly requested a rise in the annual contri-

bution to $5bn, with a similarly daunting

increase suggested to Japan, which hosts

more than 50,000 American troops.

The row puts further strain on the re-

gion, amid a fierce diplomatic and com-

mercial dispute between South Korea and

Japan and stalled nuclear talks with an in-

SEOUL

America demands that South Korea pay

much more to host American troops

South Korea’s alliance with America

Cracks in the

cladding

tradeandreturnedtorunacoffeeshop.

“I’mlearningsomuchI didn’tknowabout

before.”Theownerofa jointsellingcoffee

andriceballsonneighbouringTeshimais

lesseffusive.Ontheonehand,theartscene

hasrevivedandchangedherbusiness.“I

hadtoclosemystrawberryfarmbecause

thereweren’tenoughcustomers,butthen

thetouristscameandI heardtheyliked

coffee.”Ontheotherhand,shesays,there-

vivalonlygoessofar.Professionaljobsre-

mainscarce.Herdaughterlefttheisland

longagototakea governmentjob.

TakahiroKubo,a constructionworker

onNaoshima,concurs:“It’sgoodbusiness

forthoseofuswhoworkintourismorcon-

struction,lesssofortherest.”Onbalance,

hewelcomesthetransformation.Theonly

thinghereallyworriesaboutisovercrowd-

ing.“Outsidersarebuyinguphouses.And

trygettinga ferryduringthefestival.” 7

E

ven after the verdict of Thailand’s

constitutional court on November

20th, supporters of the Future Forward

party, gathered outside, kept signing a por-

trait. It showed a beaming Thanathorn

Juangroongruangkit, leader of the party.

His actual face was far more grave as he sat

in the courtroom, listening as the judges

retroactively disqualified him from the

election in March at which he became an

mp. The decision marks the start of what

will probably prove a prolonged period of

difficulty for Mr Thanathorn and his party. 

The case turned on Mr Thanathorn’s

ownership of shares in v-Luck Media. Un-

der Thailand’s constitution and its web of

election laws, owners of shares in media

firms are barred from running for parlia-

ment. Mr Thanathorn (pictured) insists

that before the election was called he sold

his shares inv-Luck, publisher of glossy

magazines such as Jibjib(Cheep cheep), the

hard-hitting inflight publication of Nok

Air, a budget airline. What is more, v-Luck

ceased publishing months ago. But the

court, which sees no problem with military

coups, quibbled about how long it took him

to cash the cheque from the sale and noted

that the documents proving his case came

from the company, not from regulators. For

Mr Thanathorn, whose family owns a giant

auto-parts firm, publishing was only a tiny

sideline, even when v-Luck was a going

concern. He says the case was trumped up

for political reasons. He recently sued the

seven election commissioners for rushing

it to court. They deny wrongdoing.

The ruling was hardly a surprise given

Future Forward’s staunch opposition to the

government of Prayuth Chan-ocha, who

seized power in a coup more than five years

ago. The party’s platform of reforming the

army, decentralising government and

breaking up business monopolies won it

support from young Thais but enmity from

the ruling elite. Founded less than three

years ago, it is the third-largest party in

parliament, and is paying for its popularity.

More than a dozen lawsuits have been

stacked up against Mr Thanathorn and oth-

er figures in the party. Meanwhile dozens

of other mps accused of maintaining media

interests continue to serve unmolested.

“I’ve been in this system for over 30 years

and I believe this case should have been

dismissed,” says a civil servant.

Removing Mr Thanathorn from parlia-

ment changes little. He had already been

suspended as an mpin May, pending the

court’s decision. Other mps from the party

have proved themselves more than capable

of lampooning the government without

him. Mr Thanathorn remains party leader

and will continue to campaign noisily

against the subversion of democracy. 

How long will he be allowed to stay a

thorn in Mr Prayuth’s side? The latest rul-

ing may herald others that could eventual-

ly lead to Mr Thanathorn’s imprisonment

and the dissolution of the party. “This is the

first domino,” reckons a Thai academic. It’s

not as if judges shy away from decisions

with big political ramifications. Since 2006

the constitutional court has invalidated

two elections and dissolved seven political

parties. Mr Thanathorn is undeterred. “It is

a long journey and we’ll keep moving for-

ward,” he declared outside the court. 7

BANGKOK

An opposition leader loses his seat in

parliament but battles on

Thai politics

Future backwards

They don’t like the cut of his Jibjib