When Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back acknowledged that South Korea and Japan discussed a possible Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA) during their meeting on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, the political reaction was predictable.

Critics warned that the agreement could deepen military integration with Japan and open the door to a larger role for the Japanese Self-Defense Forces in regional security affairs. Supporters portrayed it as a practical logistics arrangement that would allow the two militaries to provide each other with fuel, transportation, maintenance and other forms of support.

Neither interpretation fully explains why ACSA has returned to