South Korea is getting a rude awakening about what happens when U.S. priorities shift: Even long-standing alliances can start to look like relationships of convenience.

Any erosion of American reliability in the Indo-Pacific weakens confidence in Washington. It also strengthens China’s narrative that the U.S. is unwilling to stay the course when its interests move elsewhere.

The reported transfer of U.S. air defense assets — including parts of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system — from the Korean Peninsula to the Middle East to support operations in the Iran war is causing all kinds of alarm. The U.S. and South Korea agreed to install it in 2016, to help Seoul combat North Korea’s growing nuclear and missile threat.

© The Japan Times