Japan and South Korea: Pawns Pushed to the Edge of the U.S. Chessboard

Japan is not pleased with the release of the Chinese captain involved in the Diaoyu Islands incident [The islands are claimed by both China and Japan.] After the sinking of the South Korean navy ship, the Cheonan, North Korea bombed South Korean territory. Nor was Japan amused by the Russian president’s trip to the four northern islands [These islands are held by Russia but claimed by Japan.] All this might explain complaints by Japan and South Korea of humiliation and requests for support from the United States.

Fortunately, Washington has responded positively; however, it is ironic that the two Asian allies of the U.S. are victims of White House policies: Lee Myung-bak follows Washington, at the expense of his “Sunshine Policy,” and Japan has been used as part of the frontier in America’s contentious relationship with China.

Japan is obviously not a strong rival of China, and South Korea has always been bullied by North Korea, as recently evidenced by the Cheonan incident. As Russian investigators suggest, however, if the Cheonan story is true, the quality of the South Korean navy should be questioned because of its delayed response and the positioning of the target. The Cheonan incident is, in fact, the consequence of North Korea’s habitual, extreme behavior in response to its diplomatic alienation from the strong alliance of the U.S., Japan and South Korea.

Despite the Cheonan incident, conflict at the 38th parallel is unlikely to escalate. Friction between Japan and China, between North and South Korea and between Japan and Russia are on their respective territorial fringes and, more important, are only remnants of the Cold War. Nevertheless, because of North Korea, the Diaoyu Islands and the four northern islands, there is rivalry between the two sides: the U.S., Japan and South Korea vs. China, Russia and North Korea.

The six-party talks to resolve security issues in Northeast Asia are close to collapsing. The U.S. failed to influence North Korea, and the relationship between North and South Korea has come apart, weakening the goals of South Korea to strengthen economic ties, to work toward harmony with the north and to reunify the two sides of the Korean Peninsula.