‘CCP Would Not Dare Look Down on an Aboveboard and Dignified South Korea’: Ex-Diplomat

As the South Korean statesmanlike predetermination approaches, the country’s narration with the United States, Japan, and China has go much sensitive. The overseas argumentation of the Moon Jae-in administration—especially its cognition towards the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)—has been the taxable of superior concern.

“If South Korea adheres to its principles, and conducts diplomacy successful a dignified and aboveboard manner, China [CCP] volition not situation to look down connected us,” Lee Joon-gyu, president of the Korean Council connected Foreign Relations, told The Epoch Times.

In his astir 40 years arsenic a diplomat, Lee has served arsenic Korea’s ambassador to specified countries arsenic New Zealand, India, and Japan.

“Korea is 1 of the apical 10 economical powers successful the world, and ranks 6th oregon 7th successful presumption of nationalist defence strength, arsenic good arsenic being a cardinal state with sizeable governmental influence, which has a definite power connected China,” helium said.

The elder diplomat believes that South Korea is positioned wherever neighboring powers are often engaging successful assorted conflicts, and therefore, the state should not beryllium adjacent the slightest spot complacent close now.

South Korea’s Relations with China and the US

Beginning with the Trump administration, the United States has been clamping down connected the CCP-ruled China connected economic, trade, financial, high-tech, and subject fronts, and U.S.-China relations are becoming precise tense.

Some successful Korea person called for a alleged equilibrium successful argumentation betwixt the United States and the CCP, that is, a argumentation of “security for the U.S. and economical opportunities for China,” with nary notation of China’s strategy of stealing intelligence spot (IP) from overseas companies to “rob, replicate, and replace” palmy industries successful the planetary market.

Lee called the argumentation of a balanced attack to the CCP “too absurd.”

“The extremity of diplomacy is to assistance the state summation a foothold and prosper, and information and system are inextricably linked, and economical improvement could not beryllium accomplished if information is not stable,” helium said.

“The thought that China is an alternate state for South Korea is simply invalid,” Lee said. “The state made a wide prime a agelong clip ago: the South Korea-U.S. alliance.”

Lee said that helium believes China volition proceed to support a pugnacious code toward the United States until its elections are completed adjacent year. “But China volition proceed to person a hard clip confronting the U.S. due to the fact that of its interior problems,” helium said.

Comprehensive nationalist power, according to Lee, reflects connected economic, military, security, political, and brushed power, and galore different factors. “It is excessively aboriginal for China to go an adjacent powerfulness with the United States,” helium said.

He added, “South Korea has been acting arsenic if it is stepping connected 2 boats astatine the aforesaid time, sending the incorrect awesome to the U.S. and China … this is perfectly undesirable,” helium said of the Moon administration.

Lee said, erstwhile facing the CCP, “South Korea’s accustomed obedience and non-assertive diplomacy” is 1 of the missteps of its existent overseas policy.

A Gallup Korea poll in April showed Moon’s support standing dropped to 29 percent for the archetypal clip since helium took office, said KEI (Korean Economic Institute), a U.S. deliberation vessel focused connected relations with South Korea.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Joe Biden issued a joint statement connected May 21, successful which they mentioned the value of bid and stableness successful the Taiwan Strait, state of navigation successful the South China Sea, and the U.S.-Japan-India-Australia “Quadrilateral Security Dialogue” (QUAD) to curb the CCP, and transcend the extracurricular world’s expectations.

Kim Tae Woo, a prof of subject subject astatine Hanyang University successful South Korea told The Epoch Times that Moon’s declining home enactment standing is 1 of the main reasons for his pro-U.S. statements.

Korea-Japan Stalemate

In January, a South Korean tribunal ordered Japan to compensate 12 “comfort women” who were forced to enactment successful its wartime brothels. Comfort women is simply a Japanese euphemism for victims of intersexual maltreatment during Japan’s 1910-1945 assemblage regularisation of the Korean peninsula.

In September, the Supreme Court of Korea ordered Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to compensate Korean workers for their forced recruitment during World War II.

The Japanese authorities views the 2 issues from World War II arsenic being resolved successful the 1965 Treaty connected Basic Relations signed by some countries.

“A extremist alteration successful reasoning is needed to easiness the tense Korea-Japan relationship, which is presently astatine its worst,” Lee said.

Although Korea has grown successful diplomacy successful caller years, the ex-diplomat besides expressed regret that “the presumption of the Korean Foreign Ministry [in the country] has present declined truthful much.”

Lee made an entreaty to the existent medication and the adjacent one, “before deciding connected overseas policy, delight perceive to the opinions of diplomatic experts.”

Lee Khasub contributed to this article