A TIGHT SPOT
The US commander’s comments have put the South Korean government in a tight spot. The current administration under President Lee Jae-myung has been cautious about aligning with the US against a rising China.
South Korea’s primary strategic concern has traditionally been North Korea. While the US alliance with Seoul backstops South Korean security, Seoul needs a functional relationship with China too.
If North Korea collapses, China will have a veto role over its integration into South Korea. Limiting North Korea’s spiralling nuclear programme also requires Chinese help. Beijing is one of the few powers that Pyongyang listens to.
On the economic front, South Korea is an export-dependent state and China is its largest export destination.
Thus, the Lee administration has resisted American hawkishness toward China, adopting instead a more pragmatic, case-by-case approach to balance ties between the two powers. Mr Lee said in a Jun 11 interview that South Korea’s traditional model of “security with the US, economy with China” is no longer valid in today’s geopolitical environment.
He added that while the US alliance remains central to South Korean foreign policy, Seoul must strengthen its “independent operational capabilities”.
In that vein, South Korea has upped defence investment and pushed for more wartime operational control authority. However, it is far from achieving a genuinely independent military. It would be difficult for South Korea to rely on America’s defence commitment against North Korea, while remaining neutral on China’s challenge to US power.
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