Op-Eds from Mike

As China and North Korea grow bolder in their efforts to destabilize the Indo-Pacific, the United States, with President Donald Trump back at the helm as commander in chief, is positioned to lead a broader, bolder coalition of democracies that meets the moment we find ourselves in.

Three-quarters of a century ago, our soldiers fought shoulder to shoulder on the Korean Peninsula to repel communist aggression. Today, the threat posed by the totalitarian regimes of the Chinese Communist Party and North Korean government looms just as large, and just as dangerous.

The U.S.-South Korea alliance has long stood as a pillar of peace in the region, but no single relationship, no matter how strong, can carry that burden alone. That’s why I reintroduced the Indo-Pacific Treaty Organization Act this Congress: to lay the groundwork for a new multilateral security architecture that includes not only South Korea but also our other partners, Japan, Australia, the Philippines, Thailand, New Zealand, India, and more.

The Indo-Pacific Treaty Organization Act directs the president to establish a bipartisan task force to evaluate the feasibility of creating a NATO-style collective security alliance in the Indo-Pacific region. This task force will assess security threats from China and North Korea, explore whether a formal multilateral defense agreement among the U.S. and key allies can effectively deter aggression, and develop recommendations on how to strengthen coordinated defense and promote long-term unity rooted in our shared values.

Over seventy years after the signing of the Korean Armistice Agreement, the contrast between North and South has never been starker. While South Korea thrives as a democracy and global economic leader, the North remains trapped behind one of the last remaining walls of oppression.

As a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Congressional Korea Caucus, I’ve made clear that during my tenure, there can’t be any daylight between the United States and its democratic allies in the Pacific.

That begins with our partnership with South Korea, and it means thinking bigger about how to strengthen our collective defense in the region.

The goal is not to militarize the Indo-Pacific, but to formalize and strengthen cooperation with allies who are already working in lockstep to maintain stability. South Korea is an indispensable partner in that effort, not only as a military ally, but as a global economic and technological leader.

The IPTO Act is about putting structure behind what our allies already know: the United States is stronger and the world is safer when we lead. History has shown that the world becomes a far more dangerous place when America steps back from its responsibility as the leader of the free world.

This reality was most prevalent during my first overseas trip as a member of Congress in 2023, when I joined then-Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, and a bipartisan group of House Foreign Affairs Committee members to visit South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. This trip reaffirmed our critical partnerships in the region and was a powerful reminder of what’s at stake.

We are at an inflection point. As Beijing ramps up its military actions, threatens Taiwan, and deepens its coercive influence across the Indo-Pacific, Kim Jong Un continues to pursue nuclear weapons, launch missile tests near South Korea and Japan, and entrench ties with other rogue regimes. These regimes, inclusive of China, North Korea, Russia, and Iran, are increasingly aligned in their goal to dismantle the democratic order and diminish America’s role in the world.

Our alliance has always sent a clear message to Beijing and Pyongyang, and it will continue to stand as a promise to future generations that freedom is worth defending and peace is worth preserving.

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/aug/22/us-south-korean-unity-communist-deterrence-indo-pacific/