Blinken emphasizes S. Korea-US alliance to counter China's influence

Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong, right, and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken bump elbows ahead of their talks at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap

By Kang Seung-woo

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated his bashing of China for its use of “coercion and aggression” on the international stage during his meeting with South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong in Seoul, Wednesday.

Blinken, along with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, arrived here earlier in the day for a so-called two-plus-two ministerial meeting with Chung and Defense Minister Suh Wook as well as their respective face-to-face meetings following their three-day visit to Japan.

Their Asian tour is the first Cabinet-level overseas trip of the Joe Biden administration that was inaugurated in January, a sign of the new U.S. government's commitment to reinvigorating alliances in Asia after four years of neglect under former President Donald Trump.

“It's critical that we stand up to the values especially now because we are witnessing a dangerous erosion of democracy around the world including in this region,” Blinken said at the start of the dialogue at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“China is using coercion and aggression to systematically erode the economy in Hong Kong, undercut democracy in Taiwan, abuse human rights in Xinjiang and Tibet and asserting campaigns in the South China Sea that violate human rights law.”

On Tuesday in Tokyo, Blinken also criticized Beijing's bullying of neighboring countries, adding that the United States “will push back if necessary when China uses coercion or aggression to get its way.”

The repeated warnings from Blinken came as the Asia tour was seen as Washington's bid to win support from the two key allies for its campaign to counter Chinese influence in Asia. However, South Korea has been reluctant to join any U.S.-led anti-China coalition, including the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), given that China is its largest-trading partner.

The Quad, a strategic forum established in 2007 to contain a rising China, is comprised of Australia, India, Japan and the U.S., but the U.S. wants to expand it by inviting South Korea, New Zealand and Vietnam into a so-called Quad Plus. Last week, the first Quad summit took place remotely, featuring Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and President Biden.

North Korea was also the focus of the talks as Blinken said Pyongyang's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs pose a threat to the region and the world.

“We will continue to work together with the ROK and other allies and partners including Japan for the denuclearization of the DPRK,” he said. The ROK refers to the Republic of Korea, South Korea's official name, while the DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, North Korea's official name.

According to the South Korean foreign ministry, the top diplomats concurred on the urgency of North Korea's nuclear problem and deeply discussed ways to cooperate on the complete denuclearization of the North.

Currently, the U.S. government is conducting a thorough interagency review of its policy toward North Korea and the allies agreed to maintain close consultations and cooperation throughout the overall process of the policy review.

Blinken also accused the Kim Jong-un regime of “systemic and widespread abuses” against its own people.

“The authoritarian regime in North Korea continues to commit systemic and widespread abuses against its own people,” Blinken said. “We must stand for fundamental rights and freedoms and against those who oppress it.”

Meanwhile, the secretary expressed his condolences over the deaths of four women of Korean descent in a series of deadly shootings in Atlanta earlier in the day, saying, “I want to offer our deepest condolences for our families and friends for those who died, and everyone in the Korean community who was deeply shaken. We will stand up for our fellow Americans and Korean Americans to be safe.”

Starting his first meeting with Blinken, Chung expected the momentum between the allies gained by the top Biden officials' trip to South Korea to lead to a summit between President Moon Jae-in and Biden in the near future.

“Today's talks will contribute to the Korean Peninsula peace process taking firm root and eventually making substantive progress,” Chung said.

On Thursday, the allies will hold a two-plus-two meeting for the first time since October 2016 ― a symbolic gathering to highlight the strength of the alliance. After the dialogue, they will attend the signing of the new Special Measures Agreement (SMA), which determines Korea's share of costs to maintain U.S. troops stationed in South Korea. Later in the day, Blinken and Austin are set to pay a courtesy call on President Moon.

Blinken is scheduled to leave for Anchorage on Thursday evening to meet China's most senior foreign policy official, Yang Jiechi, and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, while Austin will leave for India, Friday.