Korea urged not to provoke China over US Indo-Pacific Strategy

President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Donald Trump attend a joint press conference at Cheong Wa Dae in November 2017, during which Trump asked Moon to join the U.S. Indo-Pacific Strategy. Yonhap

By Yi Whan-woo

South Korea should be cautious about joining the U.S. Indo-Pacific Strategy because it could provoke China and possibly result in further economic retaliation, according to experts, Thursday.

Referring to a summit between the leaders of South Korea and China this week, the experts said bilateral ties have just begun to get back on track.

This may fail if Seoul expands its security cooperation with Washington through the Indo-Pacific Strategy while seeking to enhance its economic partnership with Beijing, they said.

China took economic measures against Seoul over the presence of the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile shield deployed in South Korea in 2017.

The summit between President Moon Jae-in and Chinese President Xi Jinping this week was seen as critical to fully normalizing their relations.

“South Korea will face a dilemma if it actively takes part in the U.S. Indo-Pacific Strategy,” said An Chan-il, head of the World Institute for North Korea Studies. “China was upset with the South as the latter appeared to be taking advantage of the former only when needed and deeming the U.S. its ultimate friend.”

He suggested South Korea participate in the Indo-Pacific Strategy “strategically.”

“You can think of it as the South sending a non-combat unit when in U.S.-led wars in the Middle East,” An said.

Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies, said Seoul should “not step in” on issues related to the broader U.S. security strategy beyond the Korean Peninsula.

“If there is any time and energy we could spare for that, we then should use it on defense against North Korea,” Yang said.

He said South Korea therefore should hold on to its view that the Special Measures Agreement (SMA) should be maintained and that Seoul is only responsible for bearing the cost of the 28,500 American troops stationed here.

Washington has asserted that the SMA, a decades-long framework for the cost-sharing pact, could be reviewed and Seoul's financial burden be higher to cover U.S. defense expenses not only on the Korean Peninsula but also outside the region.

Washington argued this is because the related expenses are “all about” defense of the South.

U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has sought endorsements from allies and partners for its initiatives to support a so-called free and open Indo-Pacific.

The strategy encompasses a range of U.S. priorities in a region that spans most of the Indian and Pacific oceans.

The idea is the successor to the Barack Obama administration's “rebalance” or “pivot” to Asia, with a greater focus on the preservation of a normal regional status quo in Asia.