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Gen. Xavier Brunson, the commander of US Forces Korea, speaks at a forum held in Honolulu, Hawaii, on Jan. 13, 2026. (courtesy USFK)

Gen. Xavier Brunson, the commander of US Forces Korea, stated that he could not “make apologies” for air exercises on Feb. 18 and 19 that led to a precarious confrontation between US and Chinese fighter aircraft over waters directly to the west of Korea. 

His reasoning was that the situation in question was an issue of Minister of National Defense Ahn Gyu-back and others failing to receive a timely report after USFK provided South Korea with a “notification” ahead of the exercises.

If this is true, the South Korean military should assume responsibility for this unnerving situation for the Korean Peninsula, as it was the party that failed to inform the defense minister immediately. Military officials need to clearly state what communication took place with the US over these exercises and establish prompt institutional safeguards to ensure such a situation does not happen again.

On Tuesday evening, USFK issued a statement in response to media reports claiming that Brunson had “apologized” for failing to notify South Korea ahead of time about the exercises in the West Sea.

“We don’t make apologies for maintaining readiness,” the statement said.

“Gen. Xavier Brunson spoke directly with the Minister of National Defense [Ahn] to reiterate that notification had been provided to the Republic of Korea side [about the exercises] and expressed regret that [the minister] and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff were not briefed in time,” it also said. This implies that USFK views that the issue arose due to belated reporting on the South Korean side and had nothing to do with them.

In the past, South Korean military officials have generally explained that while the USFK did provide notification on its exercises, it did not inform them about the specific flight purposes or plans. If it is the case that the US gave advance notification about the specific plan and purpose for the exercises — explaining that around 10 F-16 aircraft would be approaching the Chinese air defense identification zone in the Yellow Sea — then responsibility for the situation escalating into a heated argument within the alliance does indeed fall on the South Korean side.

On the other hand, if the US only conveyed that exercises would be taking place — while omitting key details about them — and claims that this amounts to “notification,” that would be a case of USFK distorting the facts.

Moreover, the nature of this situation is such that it cannot simply be papered over with an apology or expression of “regrets” from either the South Korean or US side.

The use of a base on South Korean territory for an attempt to contain China rather than defend South Korea — an attempt that involved the use of air power, at that — is a major development that fundamentally alters the nature of the alliance. Accordingly, there needs to be in-depth discussions between Seoul and Washington, along with safeguards to prevent this from being abused.

The final decision-making authority on this matter lies with the South Korean public, not the USFK commander. Hopefully, Brunson will take this fact to heart.

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]