Moon looking for positive impact from Hormuz decision

President Moon greets officers after a briefing by the Ministry of National Defense on Jan. 21. Yonhap

By Do Je-hae

One of the trickiest diplomatic challenges Cheong Wa Dae has faced in recent months is how it would respond to the U.S. request last year to join its naval mission in the Strait of Hormuz.

During his Jan. 14 New Year press conference, President Moon Jae-in said the government was looking into the complex factors surrounding the request, such as its alliance with the U.S. and relations with Iran, before coming up with a "realistic solution."

On Tuesday, the Ministry of National Defense announced that Seoul will conduct an independent mission in the Strait ― to safeguard Korean residents in the region and vessels there ― by expanding the operational area of the Cheonghae anti-piracy unit, instead of participating in the U.S.-led International Maritime Security Construct (IMSC) naval coalition.

Analysts say the decision was a compromise that reflected the need for Korea to consider both the U.S. position as well as any possible backlash from Iran.

"This is a reasonable approach to a tricky issue for the Blue House (Cheong Wa Dae). It gets to signal willingness to work with the U.S. on an issue for which it has been under pressure by the U.S., while also remaining sensitive to both domestic politics in Korea and international perceptions, notably from countries in the Middle East," said Mason Richey, a professor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies.

The U.S. departments of defense and state welcomed Seoul's decision. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said Chairman Gen. Park Han-ki talked about the decision with his U.S. counterpart, Gen. Mark Milley, who said he understood and appreciated it.

But the Iranian government has shown concern about the deployment, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On Tuesday, Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi criticized the South Korean defense ministry's reference to the Persian Gulf as the Arab-Persian Gulf in its statement. "If Korea does not even know the historical name of the Persian Gulf, what knowledge and justification does Korea have in sending its troops to the region? Mutual respect is the very basis of relations between two civilized countries," the spokesman said in a tweet.

Although such a negative reaction from Iran could have been foreseen, experts say Seoul was left with little option but to make a decision that tilted more toward the U.S, given that additional difficulties bilateral relations have suffered over some key issues, such as the Special Measures Agreement (SMA) negotiations to determine Korea's share of costs for the upkeep of U.S. troops here. Seoul and Washington have also been at odds over Moon's plan for various inter-Korean projects this year.

Impact on future Korea-US negotiations

"It's also good to get this issue off the table in light of recent spats between Seoul and Washington on the SMA agreement and Seoul's desire to find out ways to increase tourism to North Korea, a concept that has met with push back from the U.S.," Richey said.

"Surely Korea's decision to join in defending the Straits of Hormuz will help in future negotiations. Korean negotiators will note this decision as showing their desire to cooperate on defense costs and also on inter-Korean projects," Donald Kirk, a veteran correspondent and author on the Korean Peninsula said. "The Americans may be more willing to relax in their demands on defense costs and adopt a more flexible attitude on dealing with North Korea as a result. At the same time, U.S. negotiators may also say the issues are quite different ― and Korea is cooperating on Hormuz largely because most of its oil comes from that region."

But some observers said that Seoul's Hormuz decision will not have much impact on future negotiations with the U.S. or other pending issues, such as the SMA or inter-Korean projects. Rather, some experts noted that the decision was made in the context of international cooperation to ensure freedom of navigation in the strategic waterway.

"Similar to Japan's decision on the issue, South Korea's planned deployment to the Strait of Hormuz is calibrated to meet Washington's request for maritime security cooperation without offending economic partners in the Middle East. Some analysts consider the deployment 'alliance dues' that can offset other defense cost-sharing categories. But Japan and South Korea have shared interests in freedom of navigation, especially related to energy security, so these deployments are better understood as contributions to the international public goods," said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha Womans University.

Some also raise concerns that the U.S. could request Korea's official participation in the IMSC if the clash between the U.S. and Iran aggravates in coming months.

Cheong Wa Dae said that it could not comment on such a possibility at this point. "We are not able to speak about negotiations regarding such a request. There have been some precedents regarding the expansion of the operational area. In this case, we have determined that it is not necessary to seek National Assembly approval," a senior presidential aide said in a briefing.