Moon walking tricky diplomatic tightrope between US, China

Foreign Minister nominee Chung Eui-yong speaks to reporters as he arrives at a temporary office in Seoul, Thursday. / Yonhap

South Korea's 'neutrality tactic' faces challenges

By Kang Seung-woo

A further deepening Sino-U.S. rivalry under the presidency of Joe Biden is putting Korea's “tightrope” diplomacy between the two key partners to the test.

The United States is Korea's long-time security ally, while China is its top trading partner.

Since taking office last week, Biden and his team have called on America's allies, including Korea, to work together to strengthen their alliances, which many view as a call to form an anti-China coalition.

During Wednesday's phone conversation between Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the top U.S. diplomat said the alliance between the two countries is the “linchpin” of peace, security and prosperity for a free and open Indo-Pacific region and across the world ― an indication that Washington wants to use the military alliance to contain Beijing.

“The Donald Trump administration failed to form a united front with its allies against China due to its unilateral and disorganized foreign policy, as evidenced by the former president picking trade fights with friends and foes alike. However, the Biden administration plans to implement its anti-China policy in a diplomatic and polished manner, enough to convince allies to follow it,” said Park Won-gon, a professor of international politics at Handong Global University.

Citing Trump's fifth-generation (5G) ban that urged the U.S. and its allies to restrict Huawei from building their 5G networks, the U.S. government failed to provide relevant evidence despite requests from Korea, Japan and European countries. But the Biden administration may provide detailed evidence.

In his contribution to Foreign Affairs magazine last year, Biden wrote, “The United States does need to get tough with China. If China has its way, it will keep robbing the United States and American companies of their technology and intellectual property.”

In response to the U.S. move, China has also stepped up efforts to loosen the “linchpin” by approaching Korea, which Beijing perceives as the weakest link in the U.S. alliance network.

“China stands ready to strengthen coordination with Korea on international affairs, and to jointly contribute to safeguarding multilateralism and free trade,” Chinese President Xi Jinping told President Moon Jae-in over the phone, Tuesday, according to reports by Chinese media.

Given their phone conversation took precedence over a phone call between Moon and Biden, which is being arranged between the two governments, it was seen as China's move to neutralize Korea before Korea-U.S. cooperation can be strengthened.

In addition, there are also concerns that a series of acts by the Moon Jae-in administration are raising speculation among U.S. government officials and observers that Korea is leaning toward China rather than sticking with the U.S.

In response, Foreign Minister nominee Chung Eui-yong on Thursday called Korea's alliance with the U.S. the cornerstone of the nation's diplomacy, in what seemed to be a move to dispel concerns.

“I think one of the most important tasks for our diplomacy is to continue developing our alliance with the United States in a sound and mutually beneficial manner,” he told reporters.

Citing rapid communications between the ministers of defense and foreign affairs and the national security advisers of the two countries, Chung said, “All of this proves that the two governments fully recognize and share the value and importance of the alliance.”

Park said the Korean government needs to establish a principle and take pre-emptive steps, rather than continuing to maintain an ambiguous stance.

“South Korea recently made a rapid decision to join the Biden-proposed Summit for Democracy and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. Both of them are anti-China coalitions, but the Chinese government did not take issue with it,” the professor said.

Park said the government needs to learn a lesson from the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery, a U.S. missile defense shield that drew harsh retribution from China, which claims that the powerful radar of the system can be used to spy on its military maneuvers and hurt its security interests.

In 2016, the Park Geun-hye administration remained ambiguous about the presence of THAAD on the Korean Peninsula, sounding as if Korea would not approve its deployment. But Park changed that stance abruptly and deployed the missile defense system here, angering the Chinese government which punished Korea by imposing an unofficial boycott on Korean products and enforcing tourism restrictions.