Restoring relationships, especially with countries in the Indo-Pacific region, is a crucial element in achieving Yoon’s vision of a global pivotal state.
Justin Trudeau, the first Canadian leader to visit South Korea in nine years, said his government remains committed to working closely with Seoul to address the North Korean threat.
Strategic Innovator or Middle Power Balancer?: The Yoon Administration s Foreign and Security Policy in a Changing Indo-Pacific | East-West Center eastwestcenter.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from eastwestcenter.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
May 5, 2021 last updated 9:0 ET South Korean President Moon Jae-in meets with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, right, in Seoul, March 18, 2021 (AP photo by Lee Jin-man).
South Korea Is Staying Out of the U.S.-China Rivalry
South Koreans often refer to their country with a famous proverb: “In a fight between whales, the shrimp’s back gets broken.” But rather than a shrimp, Seoul is betting that it can become a dolphin, giving it more agency and maneuverability as competition heats up between the United States and China.
Getting it right would allow the country to balance its security alliance with the United States along with its economic dependence on China. Getting it wrong would see South Korea alienated in the region, distrusted by both Washington and Beijing. This balance will prove difficult, but South Korean leaders are unlikely to stop trying. .
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The Diplomat’s Asia Geopolitics podcast host Ankit Panda (@nktpnd) speaks to Karl Friedhoff, the Marshall M. Bouton Fellow for Asia Studies at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, about the future of the U.S.-South Korea alliance and South Korean foreign policy in the remaining year of President Moon Jae-in’s administration.
Click the play button to the right to listen.
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