Growing pressure awaits Korea at ASEAN meetings amid US-China rivalry

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha speaks via videoconference during a meeting of foreign ministers from the G20 at the government complex in Seoul, Thursday. / Yonhap

S. Korea to urge NK to return to dialogue

By Kang Seung-woo

This week could be a tough one for Korea as the country will attend a series of ASEAN meetings that will also be participated in by the United States and China amid their intensifying hegemonic rivalry which is likely, once again, to see them urge Seoul to pick their respective side.

Korea has remained neutral in the conflict as the U.S. is its longtime ally while China is its largest trading partner.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Monday, Minister Kang Kyung-wha will be present at four ASEAN-related foreign ministers' meetings ― the Foreign Ministers' Meeting between Korea and ASEAN, the ASEAN Plus Three, the East Asia Summit (EAS) and the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) ― from Wednesday to Saturday.

Vietnam was supposed to host the gatherings, but all of them will be held in a virtual format due to the COVID-19 pandemic that has disrupted in-person diplomacy.

Even though Kang is set to stress the importance of the Korean Peninsula peace process for peace and stability in the region and ask for the participating countries' support for an early start to dialogue with North Korea, her calls may be swamped by U.S.-China disputes, including the one regarding the South China Sea.

The U.S. has already ratcheted up the pressure on Korea to join its anti-China coalition.

U.S. State Secretary Mike Pompeo said in a media interview, Sept. 1, that Korea and other allies will join U.S. efforts to tackle what he called economic and political aggression from China; while Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun also mentioned including Korea in the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or QUAD, which is a strategic forum established in 2007 to counter China.

In response, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Luo Zhaohui told a symposium, Sept. 2, that interference from the U.S. has been a source of risk in the South China Sea, calling on countries in the region to jointly reject such risks and safeguard peace and stability.

“At ASEAN meetings, we plan to state our official position on the issue ― supporting freedom of navigation and the peaceful resolution of disputes through dialogue,” a foreign ministry official said Monday.

“The U.S. is expected to rally supporters by taking issue with China on matters ranging from its predatory economy to water resources and human rights, and Beijing is likely to respond by claiming the right to champion sovereignty,” said Kim Yeoul-soo, chief of the Security Strategy Office at the Korea Institute for Military Affairs.

Kim also said rather than remaining ambiguous between the two powerhouses, Korea needs to join a strategic forum like the European Union to have its own voice heard.

Meanwhile, according to the ministry, while it still remains unclear whether North Korea will attend the ARF, chances are low that the presence of a North Korean official would create any momentum for progress in diplomacy with Pyongyang.

Ri Ho-jun, a North Korean diplomat in Vietnam, appeared at the preparatory meeting for the ministerial gathering in July.