South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Cause for Concern: The New US-Japan Defense Guidelines

On April 27, the U.S. secretary of state and U.S. secretary of defense met with their Japanese counterparts in Washington D.C. to hold talks and revise the Guidelines for U.S.-Japan Defense Cooperation. The agreement greatly expanded the scope and breadth of the Japanese self-defense force (SDF) and will allow them to operate almost anywhere in the world alongside U.S. troops. In other words, the U.S. and Japanese forces have joined together to contain China’s military expansion. The problem is that the U.S.-Japan alliance that is challenging China more explicitly can only cause more worries for our foreign relations.

After the talks, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry stated, “We reject the suggestion that freedom of navigation, overflight and other unlawful uses of the sea and airspace are privileges granted by big states to smaller ones.” These remarks and the revisions to the defense guidelines at their core reveal the intent to contain China. Even with regard to the territorial disputes between Japan and China, the revised defense guidelines state that “the self-defense forces* will primarily conduct defensive operations in Japanese territories and its surrounding waters and airspace, while U.S. forces support self-defense forces’ operations.” A joint statement was released by officials that included patrol planes, surveillance drones, the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense, and U.S. technological and military support to strengthen the Japanese presence, reinforcing the officials’ true intentions of containing China.

There is a high possibility that these maneuvers by the U.S. and Japan will burden South Korea further. The U.S. wants to bring South Korea deeply into the U.S.-Japan alliance. Likewise, the U.S. will seek to deploy its high altitude area defense system on the Korean Peninsula to expand and strengthen cooperation between U.S., Japanese, and South Korean forces. As the U.S.-Japan alliance continues to apply pressure on China, China will obviously seek to draw in Russia and North Korea to oppose these measures. The worst case scenario would be North Korea, China and Russia clashing with South Korea, the U.S. and Japan. This growing tension will only destabilize both the security and economy in East Asia. Furthermore, resolving the North Korean nuclear issue, which would require the cooperation of the surrounding nations, will only prove to be more difficult.

More than any other time in history, South Korea needs a foreign relations strategy. When the revised defense guidelines are invoked, words won’t be enough to show respect for South Korean national sovereignty. We must now focus our capabilities in order to establish peace and avoid conflicts and clashes between the U.S.-Japan alliance and China. Needless to say, we must address our core issue of improving the situation with North Korea. We cannot merely disregard our own issues while gauging the interests of other nations. Instead of making calls to flatter and gauge interest, we have to keep disaster prevention in mind.

*Translator’s note: This refers to Japanese forces.