Verbal Contortions Hint at Rift in Korea-U.S. Alliance

The war of nerves between Beijing and Washington in the Asia Pacific is a zero-sum game. South Korea cannot simultaneously draw closer to both at once. According to this editorial from the South Korean newspaper the Chosun Ilbo, the Seoul leadership had better think long and hard about whom they can count on during a crisis.

EDITORIAL

November 17, 2005

Original Article (English)    

President Roh Moo-hyun, after a meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush on Thursday, told a press conference, "A lot is said about the South Korea-U.S. alliance. Though perceptions may differ depending on a person's point of view, let me ask back: Since the Korean War, have our two countries ever resolved as many pending issues simultaneously?"

President Bush said that links between the two countries had never been firmer. "Of course, there are complicated issues. But what's important, I think, is for our two countries to revolve them together and approach them with a friendly spirit."

When he met Chinese President Hu Jintao on Wednesday, Roh said, "The South Korea-China relationship now, needless to say, is excellent." By contrast, the Seoul-Washington relationship requires complicated verbal maneuvering.

Given that diplomatic practice after a summit is to swap admiration and praise over bilateral relations, the remarks by the South Korean and U.S. presidents lead one to the suspicion that the Seoul-Washington relationship is indeed in trouble.

The U.S. and China are engaged in a war of nerves over hegemony in the Asia-Pacific, and no magic will allow South Korea, sandwiched between the two great powers, to strengthen ties with both at the same time. If "needless to say,Ó the Seoul-Beijing relationship is excellent, then the Seoul-Washington relationship must "needless to say" be less than excellent. Yet no one except those in the ruling party believes we can depend on China if a situation on the peninsula develops that we can't handle alone.

After Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi met with Bush on Wednesday, he said, "The better the alliance, I'm firmly convinced, the easier it will be to develop better relations with China and Korea."

We need to ponder whether Koizumi made the remark because Japan is less powerful than we are, Japan is somehow lacking in independent spirit, because his capacity to judge the international situation is inferior to ours. Or perhaps, it is none of the above.