Japan And South Korea Can’t Even Cooperate Over Peacekeeping In South Sudan -- Max Fisher, Washington Post
Before we get to the story of how Japan and South Korea came to be feuding over a bit of ammo-sharing between their peacekeeping forces in South Sudan, a bit of background to help you understand why this is all so absurd.
South Korea and Japan are arguably two of the most successful countries of the past half-century. They came out of their respective wars deeply impoverished and politically broken, but have since become wealthy and highly entrepreneurial democracies, renowned for their cultural exports and leadership in technological development.
It would make a lot of sense for South Korea and Japan to work closely together. They have similar economies, lots of cultural overlap, defense treaties with the United States, shared concerns about North Korea and a mutual desire to resist China's growing power and influence. The two countries stand to gain significantly from working together. But they are terrible at cooperating with one another -- just terrible.
Read more ....
More News On The Rift Between Japan And South Korea Over Bullets
S. Korea to return ammo provided by Japan to PKO troops in S. Sudan -- Global Post/Kyodo News Agency
UN Bullet Supply Deal Highlights Tokyo-Seoul Rifts -- Wall Street Journal
Opposition censures military for receiving ammunition aid from Japan -- Global Post/Yonhap News Agency
In South Sudan, South Korean Peacekeepers Solicit Ammo From Bitter Rivals Japan -- Time
My Comment: This is one of those "Huh????" moments. Your soldiers are in the middle of a civil war and are also low in ammunition .... but the South Korean government makes the decision that Japanese bullets are unacceptable and should be returned.
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