Input 2021.01.31 12:24
“Korea-US-Japan triangular alliance, worst case scenario for China”
After the inauguration of the US Joe Biden administration, Hong Kong media reported that the Chinese government is concerned about such a move, with the relationship between South Korea and the US expected to be close. The media also cited experts saying that while the Korean government will try to balance security cooperation with the US and its economic dependence on China, China is more important to Korea than the US in both aspects.
After mentioning that Secretary of Defense Seo Wook announced at the New Year’s press conference (27th) shortly after talking with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin (24th) that’we are preparing with the idea of conducting a joint training between Korea and the United States’ scheduled for early March. “High-ranking Korean and US officials have confirmed the promise of strengthening the alliance one after another,” he said.
The ROK-U.S. coalition training, which has been held every March, has been suspended or reduced since the summer of 2018 due to U.S.-North Korea relations and the corona pandemic. The media quoted Sun Ding-ri, vice president of the Institute for International Affairs at Fudan University, saying, “Unlike former President Donald Trump, President Biden promised not to threaten the withdrawal of US troops due to the issue of sharing defense costs, which will resolve the crack between the two countries. I said.
He continued, “Even though Korea is economically dependent on China, national security is far more important than the economy,” he said. “Because Korea’s goal is to maintain peace in East Asia under the new leadership of the United States, Korea will be closer to the Biden administration.” . At the same time, it was expected that Korea would seek a balance between the US and China.
The media only borrowed expert opinion and argued that China was more important than the United States in terms of security as well as economy to the Korean government. “China will not support North Korea’s invasion of South Korea, which is an important security guarantee for South Korea,” said Jin Chan-Long, professor of International Studies at People’s University. “That is why China is much more important to South Korea than the United States.”
“This will have a negative impact on the military alliance between the two countries,” said Wu Xiangning, an assistant professor at Macau University, saying that Moon Jae-in and Biden’s administration disagree over the North Korean nuclear issue. He said, “The Moon Jae-in administration wants the United States to resume dialogue with North Korea, but President Biden made it clear that he will not meet unless Kim Jong-un promises to denuclearize,” he said. “The United States will continue sanctions against North Korea, which will lead to inter-Korean reconciliation. President Moon, who has been supporting for a long time, does not want it.”
At the same time, President Moon emphasized that he had spoken to President Xi Jinping for about 40 minutes on the 26th, and said, “China has launched an attractive attack on Korea.” With regard to this, domestic foreign and security experts interpreted that while Biden’s US administration emphasized “global democratic solidarity” to check China as its top priority foreign policy, China expressed its intention to shake off Korea, a weak link.
China’s South Korean Institute of Science and Technology researcher Guo Hai said that the Biden administration will push the recovery of South Korea-Japan relations, which are struggling with trade and history issues, and explained that the US-led trilateral alliance is the worst-case scenario for China. “We have built a military alliance separately with Japan, but the Biden administration will try to intervene in the dispute between Korea and Japan and try to mediate it.”