Can the US Navy ask Indo-Pacific allies to do more while training with them less?
The USS Boxer played a key role in Exercise Ssang Yong 2024 but is deployed to the Gulf in 2026. (Photo: USN)
As the Iran War draws US ships and marine corps units away from the Indo-Pacific, curtailed exercises and a temporary carrier gap are exposing tensions between Washington’s demand for more self-reliant allies and the joint training needed to realise that ambition.
On 24 August, the Republic of Korea Marine Corps confirmed that the US had cancelled September’s division-level Ssang Yong amphibious exercise. Five days earlier, Washington and Seoul announced that Ulchi Freedom Shield, already under way, would be cut from 11 days to five, with its second phase dropped and some live training cancelled or moved into simulation.
The decisions had different backgrounds: South Korea says the US Marine Corps (USMC) cited force availability caused by the Iran War when it warned in June that Ssang Yong was at risk, while Ulchi Freedom Shield was curtailed on US President Trump’s instruction,
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