U.S. alliances with South Korea and Japan have been the bedrock for peace and stability in the region, former U.S. Secretary of State James Baker said, rejecting Donald Trump‘s suggestion the U.S. should end its defense support unless the allies pay more.

Baker, who served as top U.S. diplomat from 1989 to 1992, made the remark during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing Thursday in response to a question from Sen. Marco Rubio why the U.S. still provides defense assistance to the countries 70 years after the end of World War II.

Rubio, who withdrew from the presidential race, also asked what the world would look like if Japan and South Korea lost U.S.

commitment and the U.S. nuclear umbrella no longer covered the countries.

“It would be far less stable ... We’ve got a lot of problems today but you‘d have a hell lot more if that were the case,” Baker said. “These commitments that we have around the world promote U.S.

security ... Ever since the end of World War II, our security alliances with Japan and South Korea have been the foundation and the basis for peace and stability in the Pacific.”

Trump’s campaign has unnerved foreign countries, especially such allies as South Korea and Japan, as he has displayed deeply negative views of U.S. security commitments overseas, contending the U.S. should stop being the policeman of the world.

Earlier this month, Trump said that South Korea should shoulder all costs for the upkeep of 28,500 American troops stationed in the country and the U.S. should “walk” unless Seoul agrees to do so in an apparent threat to withdraw the troops.

South Korea currently pays about half the costs, about US$900 million a year, to help finance the troop presence, and U.S.

officials, including new U.S. Forces Korea Commander Vincent Brooks, said it would cost more to keep those troops stationed in the U.S. than it does in Korea.

Trump has even suggested allowing Seoul and Tokyo to develop nuclear weapons for self-defense.

“The more countries that acquire nuclear weapons, the more instability there is going to be in the world,” Baker said. “Ever since the end of World War II, America has led the fight against the proliferation of nuclear weapons -- weapons that can kill millions and millions of people. We ought not to abandon that fight. That would not promote stability. That would promote instability.”

During the hearing, meanwhile, former U.S. National Security Adviser Tom Donilon expressed concern about North Korea‘s growing nuclear and missile capabilities.

“North Korea has undertaken in the words of one analyst a nuclear sprint in recent months, seeking an ICBM that could reach the United States with a miniaturized nuclear weapon,” he said. “In my judgment, the situation in North Korea is on a path to become a first class crisis for the United States and its allies.” (Yonhap)