The Japan Times reported April 29 that Brunson, in an interview, said the network is needed to respond to rising security threats from North Korea, China and Russia. He said the plan would connect the three countries’ capabilities in multiple layers, with the South Korea-U.S. alliance as the core.
Brunson said the goal is to integrate allied forces into one network not only across traditional domains — land, sea and air — but also space, cyber and the electromagnetic spectrum. As an example, he said U.S. satellite-based sensors could detect signs of threats from North Korea, China or Russia, then ground radars in South Korea or Japan could track them, with other forces moving to respond.
He said such a system requires a network that allows real-time sharing of data from sensors — including satellites, drones and troops — to strike assets such as aircraft, ships and missile systems. Brunson said modern wars are often decided in cyber and electromagnetic domains before conventional fighting begins, underscoring the need to strengthen deterrence and build a rapid, combined response.
The Japan Times said the proposal aligns with a shift in how the U.S. Defense Department views East Asia: not treating the Korean Peninsula as a standalone theater focused on deterring North Korea, but as a key hub in a broader defense network along the “first island chain” stretching from Japan to Borneo.
Brunson said in major regional contingencies — including tensions in the Taiwan Strait or maritime disputes — all three countries could be involved. “The question is whether we are prepared to respond together, or whether we will be forced to coordinate in a rush after the fact,” he said.
He also said U.S. allies such as South Korea, Japan and the Philippines cannot exist in isolation. “If you connect them, there is no single axis that hostile forces can prepare against, and the military advantage grows,” he said.
To make the concept workable, Brunson outlined four tasks. He said South Korea, with its large ground forces and defense industrial base, would serve as a central provider of deterrence and logistics support. Japan, as a hub where major assets including fifth-generation fighters and the U.S. 7th Fleet are based, would provide advanced surveillance and strike capabilities and maritime control. The Philippines would offer strategic access linking the Pacific and Indian oceans and help reinforce maritime deterrence through systems such as ground-based anti-ship missiles. He also cited expanded multinational exercises as a key step to strengthen real-world readiness.
The Japan Times said turning the plan into reality would require broader intelligence sharing and a maintenance and support system for U.S. military equipment in the region. It also cited political sensitivity over South Korea-Japan military cooperation and Japan’s constitutional constraints as major variables.
Brunson said cooperation between U.S. forces in Japan and Japan’s Self-Defense Forces is already close but needs to be institutionalized, comments that also supported moves in Japan to strengthen its defense posture.
In November last year, Brunson posted an East Asia map on the U.S. Forces Korea website with North and South Korea inverted, arguing for the need for “strategic triangle” cooperation among South Korea, Japan and the Philippines.
At the time, he said the most important insight from the inverted map was the existence of a “strategic triangle” linking the three countries, adding that the concept offers a useful framework for trilateral planning discussions beyond traditional bilateral alliances.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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