Regional rivalry intensifies on Korean Peninsula
By Chung Min-uck
This year marks the 120th anniversary of the Sino-Japanese war (1894-1895), a battle between the then two major powers in Northeast Asia over the control of the Korean Peninsula.
Japan's decisive victory put the Korean peninsula within the country's sphere of influence and later led to the 1910-1945 colonial ruling of this country.
More than a century has passed since this landmark war and Korea, precisely South Korea, is no longer regarded as a regional underdog. It has emerged as an influential middle-power nation, thanks to its rapid economic growth dubbed the "Miracle of the Han River" in the late 20th century.
However, notwithstanding this, experts here raise concerns that Seoul can again be sucked up into the vortex of a regional rivalry.
"Korea's geopolitical locations and stances taken by the powers surrounding the Korean Peninsula remain the same," said Ha Jung-yul, director of the Korea Institute for Security and Unification, a private research institute. "There can, at any time, be another military conflict on our soil such as the previous Sino-Japanese war."
"Of late, such possibilities are growing following the rise of China," Ha added.
Currently, power dynamics in Northeast Asia are altering mainly because of the gradual reduction of the influence of the United States in the region following the country's budget constraints. Furthermore, a once-dominant regional force, China, is emerging, riding on its robust economic growth which is slowly translating into diplomatic and military leverage.
On top of this, Washington's key regional ally, Japan, is seeking to expand its military role by exercising the right to collective self-defense which will allow Japanese forces to help the U.S. army in containing Beijing's growing military might.
Affected by this move, China is strengthening ties with Russia because they have a common strategic interest of checking the U.S. pivot to Asia.
The fledgling leadership in Pyongyang is also adding uncertainty to the regional power game.
Against this backdrop, Seoul is being forced to maintain a "proper" balance between its main ally U.S. and No.1 trading partner China, known as the G2.
"In a situation such as this, it is important to view the world from our unique geopolitical standpoint," said Hong Myeon-ki, a researcher at the state-run Northeast Asian History Foundation (NAFH). "We must learn lessons from our history."
Internal discord
Throughout history, Korea, given its geopolitical location as a bridgehead between the continental and maritime neighbors, was invaded "countless" times.
Among others, the 1592-1598 Japanese invasions, the Manchu War of 1636 and the colonization by Japan are regarded as the biggest national humiliations, given the tangible and intangible damage inflicted on Koreans.
Those military offensives came amid power shifts in Northeast Asia among the stakeholders of the Korean Peninsula. Korea, for its part, had largely failed to cope with the changes, unable to recognize the newly-emerging power or overlook the changes occurring outside its territory.
"The very lesson behind this tragic history is that we must unite. At the heart of the problem was the internal conflict within the nation among different political interest groups," said Lee Dong-sun, a professor of international relations at Korea University in Seoul. "If there is discord internally, a nation cannot pursue appropriate policies, and achieve economic and military growth. It is also impossible to grasp the real changes happening on the global stage."
What is particularly worrisome is that today's politicians tend to follow suit with such tendencies, according to the professor.
"The so-called right-wing politicians in Korea blindly take sides with the U.S. and most left-wingers are pro-Chinese just to oppose them. They still look at international affairs as a matter of domestic factional strife," said Lee. "If we don't avoid political strife in the field of foreign affairs and security, we cannot but face another national disaster."
"Strong opposition from within the country was always the bigger problem when implementing foreign policies," said Seo Joo-seok, a former senior presidential secretary for the Roh Moo-hyun administration. "Neighboring countries usually don't oppose as much especially when it comes to issues concerning the Korean Peninsula. They consider it as Koreans handling their own domestic issue."
"Thus, learning from my experience, internal unity is the key to successful diplomacy," Seo added.
Know the motives
Despite the rise in national power, Seoul will likely remain a dependent variable in the greater leverage games among the regional powers in Northeast Asia, experts largely agree.
But they say this does not mean Korea should be entirely passive when initiating its foreign policies.
"Korea's diplomacy shouldn't be dragged around by other nations," said a South Korean career-diplomat on condition of anonymity. "Instead, Korea should more concentrate on the underlying motives behind the neighboring stakeholders' regional policies. And based on this clear understanding, we must establish a long-term strategy independent from domestic affairs."
"Last but not least, national interest must always be the No. 1 priority for diplomacy," the diplomat added.
"Korea previously joined hands with Russia but as a result became a victim of Japan's colonial aggression," said Cho Sung-ryul, a senior researcher of the state-run Korea Institute for Defense Analyses (KIDA). "We should refrain from fixating any security cooperation including the current trilateral cooperation between South Korea, U.S., and Japan."
"In reality, there will always be a tradeoff," said Prof. Lee of Korea University. "At a time when U.S.-China rivalry is intensifying, we cannot satisfy both sides simultaneously. What we need to do is to decide our priorities based on a long-term strategic goal."
By Chung Min-uck
This year marks the 120th anniversary of the Sino-Japanese war (1894-1895), a battle between the then two major powers in Northeast Asia over the control of the Korean Peninsula.
Japan's decisive victory put the Korean peninsula within the country's sphere of influence and later led to the 1910-1945 colonial ruling of this country.
More than a century has passed since this landmark war and Korea, precisely South Korea, is no longer regarded as a regional underdog. It has emerged as an influential middle-power nation, thanks to its rapid economic growth dubbed the "Miracle of the Han River" in the late 20th century.
However, notwithstanding this, experts here raise concerns that Seoul can again be sucked up into the vortex of a regional rivalry.
"Korea's geopolitical locations and stances taken by the powers surrounding the Korean Peninsula remain the same," said Ha Jung-yul, director of the Korea Institute for Security and Unification, a private research institute. "There can, at any time, be another military conflict on our soil such as the previous Sino-Japanese war."
"Of late, such possibilities are growing following the rise of China," Ha added.
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Currently, power dynamics in Northeast Asia are altering mainly because of the gradual reduction of the influence of the United States in the region following the country's budget constraints. Furthermore, a once-dominant regional force, China, is emerging, riding on its robust economic growth which is slowly translating into diplomatic and military leverage.
On top of this, Washington's key regional ally, Japan, is seeking to expand its military role by exercising the right to collective self-defense which will allow Japanese forces to help the U.S. army in containing Beijing's growing military might.
Affected by this move, China is strengthening ties with Russia because they have a common strategic interest of checking the U.S. pivot to Asia.
The fledgling leadership in Pyongyang is also adding uncertainty to the regional power game.
Against this backdrop, Seoul is being forced to maintain a "proper" balance between its main ally U.S. and No.1 trading partner China, known as the G2.
"In a situation such as this, it is important to view the world from our unique geopolitical standpoint," said Hong Myeon-ki, a researcher at the state-run Northeast Asian History Foundation (NAFH). "We must learn lessons from our history."
Internal discord
Throughout history, Korea, given its geopolitical location as a bridgehead between the continental and maritime neighbors, was invaded "countless" times.
Among others, the 1592-1598 Japanese invasions, the Manchu War of 1636 and the colonization by Japan are regarded as the biggest national humiliations, given the tangible and intangible damage inflicted on Koreans.
Those military offensives came amid power shifts in Northeast Asia among the stakeholders of the Korean Peninsula. Korea, for its part, had largely failed to cope with the changes, unable to recognize the newly-emerging power or overlook the changes occurring outside its territory.
"The very lesson behind this tragic history is that we must unite. At the heart of the problem was the internal conflict within the nation among different political interest groups," said Lee Dong-sun, a professor of international relations at Korea University in Seoul. "If there is discord internally, a nation cannot pursue appropriate policies, and achieve economic and military growth. It is also impossible to grasp the real changes happening on the global stage."
What is particularly worrisome is that today's politicians tend to follow suit with such tendencies, according to the professor.
"The so-called right-wing politicians in Korea blindly take sides with the U.S. and most left-wingers are pro-Chinese just to oppose them. They still look at international affairs as a matter of domestic factional strife," said Lee. "If we don't avoid political strife in the field of foreign affairs and security, we cannot but face another national disaster."
"Strong opposition from within the country was always the bigger problem when implementing foreign policies," said Seo Joo-seok, a former senior presidential secretary for the Roh Moo-hyun administration. "Neighboring countries usually don't oppose as much especially when it comes to issues concerning the Korean Peninsula. They consider it as Koreans handling their own domestic issue."
"Thus, learning from my experience, internal unity is the key to successful diplomacy," Seo added.
Know the motives
Despite the rise in national power, Seoul will likely remain a dependent variable in the greater leverage games among the regional powers in Northeast Asia, experts largely agree.
But they say this does not mean Korea should be entirely passive when initiating its foreign policies.
"Korea's diplomacy shouldn't be dragged around by other nations," said a South Korean career-diplomat on condition of anonymity. "Instead, Korea should more concentrate on the underlying motives behind the neighboring stakeholders' regional policies. And based on this clear understanding, we must establish a long-term strategy independent from domestic affairs."
"Last but not least, national interest must always be the No. 1 priority for diplomacy," the diplomat added.
"Korea previously joined hands with Russia but as a result became a victim of Japan's colonial aggression," said Cho Sung-ryul, a senior researcher of the state-run Korea Institute for Defense Analyses (KIDA). "We should refrain from fixating any security cooperation including the current trilateral cooperation between South Korea, U.S., and Japan."
"In reality, there will always be a tradeoff," said Prof. Lee of Korea University. "At a time when U.S.-China rivalry is intensifying, we cannot satisfy both sides simultaneously. What we need to do is to decide our priorities based on a long-term strategic goal."
