Korea faces China dilemma after fruitful summit with US

President Moon Jae-in and his U.S. counterpart President Joe Biden shake hands during their meeting at the White House, Friday (local time). Yonhap

Beijing warns Washington, Seoul not to interfere in Taiwan

By Nam Hyun-woo

Korea and the United States promised to strengthen their ties not only in security but also economic development at a summit between President Moon Jae-in and his U.S. counterpart President Joe Biden, Friday (local time). But one of the daunting tasks that remain for Moon is how to address Seoul's relations with Beijing in the immediate future.

The Moon administration has been relying on a balancing act between the U.S. and China due to their respective strategic and economic importance to Korea, but a joint statement released after the summit indicated that the balance of its strategic diplomacy has been tipped in Washington's favor. In response, China expressed concern about the statement Monday, saying it was interference in its domestic affairs.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said, "China cannot tolerate any foreign interference on the Taiwan issue," referring to a reference made in the statement to the Taiwan Straits and freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.

The spokesman said neighboring countries should be careful about their rhetoric on the Taiwan issue and there were no problems regarding the South China Sea because each country was enjoying freedom of navigation and aviation.

The remarks came after Moon and Biden agreed to commit to regional cooperation in the Asia Pacific region during the summit, which many believe reflects Washington's intention to indirectly contain China's influence.

In the statement, Moon and Biden stated that the two countries "oppose all activities that undermine, destabilize, or threaten the rules-based international order and commit to maintaining an inclusive, free, and open Indo-Pacific."

The U.S. has been using the term "free and open Indo-Pacific" to counter Chinese hegemony in the region. The term is also in joint statements from members of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), an unofficial strategic forum comprised of Australia, India, Japan and the U.S. viewed as a vehicle to bottle up an assertive China.

The Moon-Biden statement also noted that Korea and the U.S. "reaffirm support for enhanced cooperation with Pacific Island Countries and acknowledge the importance of open, transparent, and inclusive regional multilateralism including the Quad." Though it did not clearly mention expanding the Quad or Korea's entry into it, this is interpreted that Seoul has accepted its core principles.

The statement continued that the leaders agreed to "maintain peace and stability, lawful unimpeded commerce, and respect for international law, including freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea and beyond," as well as emphasizing "the importance of preserving peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait."

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This is the first time for Korea and the U.S. to mention escalating tension in the Taiwan Strait. During a summit between the U.S. and Japan in April, Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga released a joint statement that "underscore the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait," which China condemned. Beijing's foreign ministry spokesman said it "grossly interferes in China's domestic affairs and severely violates basic norms governing international relations."

Concerns were also raised on Washington agreeing to end its guidelines on Seoul's missile development programs, which had limited ranges and payload capacity, because it has opened the door for Korea to develop ballistic missiles that could reach China.

Chinese President Xi Jinping waves as he witnesses a ground-breaking ceremony for a bilateral nuclear energy cooperation project, the Tianwan and Xudapu nuclear power plants, May 19. Xinhua-Yonhap

As the summit outcomes appeared to show Seoul moving more into Washington's orbit in the U.S.-China competition, the government here strove to deny any potential impact on its relations with Beijing.

"The government has already reached agreements on issues related to the South China Sea during meetings related to ASEAN, and the U.S. has long expressed its stance on the matter," a senior official at Cheong Wa Dae said. "And Korea and the U.S. stated matters of mutual interest in the statement in the wake of the summit."

First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Choi Jong-kun said during a radio appearance Monday that "China will highly appreciate the fact that the joint statement did not directly mention China," adding the U.S.-Japan joint statement clearly did this.

"The sentence is broad rhetoric that peace and stability in the region is important," Choi said, adding Korea "didn't take China into account while discussing the lifting of the missile guidelines." Ministry of National Defense spokesman Boo Seung-chan also said Seoul had not "considered the impact on neighboring countries when it came to the abolishment of the missile guidelines," and there were "no complaints from China."

Hours ahead of the Chinese foreign ministry spokesman's remarks, Chinese Ambassador to Korea Xing Haiming also told reporters that China was aware that "the statement targeted his country, even though it did not refer to China by its name."

In the wake of China's strong response, another senior presidential official said China was showing "a gesture to understand Korea's standpoint."

"Korea and China have been engaging in communication on a usual basis, and you can find the difference between China's response to the U.S.-Japan joint statement and the one made this time," the official said, implying that China's response was milder. "The Korean government's stance remains clear that we can pursue a harmonious strategic partnership with China on the basis of the rock solid Korea-U.S. alliance."

Kim Heung-kyu, the director of the U.S.-China Policy Institute at Ajou University, said, "Through this summit, the Moon government has virtually taken the stance of joining the U.S. frame to contain China, though it used a relatively more prudent tone and rhetoric compared to that of Japan."

He added, "China will maintain a careful approach and refrain from exercising direct pressure on Korea which can drive Korea further toward the U.S. immediately, given the escalating strategic competition between Washington and Beijing," Kim said. "However, when Korea's strategic stance is seen to have crossed China's own red line, Beijing will impose restrictions far stronger than those of 2017 when Korea decided to allow the deployment of a U.S. THAAD anti-missile system on its soil."

Kim also said China will more actively consider Xi's visit to Korea after the summit, because Beijing does not want U.S. influence to expand further in Korea and have the country become a member of Washington's anti-China campaign.

"If Xi makes a visit to Korea, that could be August or September, given China's domestic political schedule and Moon's remaining term [which ends in May 2022]," Kim said. "However, there are too many uncertainties given that U.S.-China relations are constantly evolving, while there are not many issues for policy exchange between Seoul and Beijing in talks between Xi and Moon," he added.

During a phone conversation between Moon and Xi in January, the two leaders stressed the importance of communication for Xi's visit to Korea. Last month, Korea's Minister of Foreign Affairs Chung Eui-yong said Xi can visit Korea during Moon's term and this depends on COVID-19 situations in both countries.