Korea's Indo-Pacific Strategy Aligns with US While Drawing Line on Pressuring China

Solidarity and Cooperation Among Value-Sharing Nations, the Most Powerful and Effective Means
"Not Condemning or Excluding Nations Without Shared Values... Cooperating on Common Goals with an Open Attitude"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Phnom Penh (Cambodia) = Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] President Yoon Suk-yeol's declaration of the Indo-Pacific strategy and ASEAN cooperation measures at this ASEAN summit is interpreted as a strategy to strengthen alliances with friendly countries amid North Korea's continued missile provocations and nuclear development, as well as the US-China conflict. In particular, it is understood as drawing a line against expansionism and confrontation by aligning with the US Indo-Pacific strategy while avoiding directly provoking China.

A senior official from the presidential office held a briefing on the afternoon of the 12th at a press room set up in a hotel in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. In response to a reporter's question that "the Korean version of the Indo-Pacific strategy is understood to be aligned with the US," the official said, "There are aspects that are both true and false," adding, "From the US perspective, there are parts where Korea meets the US's expectations and parts where it does not."

Regarding the reason President Yoon announced Korea's first Indo-Pacific strategy and ASEAN cooperation measures, the official stated, "ASEAN is a battlefield of intense strategic competition between the US and China," and added, "If one pursues mercantilist interests without regard to the strategic competition among major powers, there is a risk of making mistakes without fully recognizing subtle changes."

Considering North Korea's provocations, the international confrontational stance, and food and energy crises caused by climate change, the implication is that the Indo-Pacific strategy needed to be conceived and announced before it was too late. At the Korea-ASEAN summit held in Phnom Penh the previous day, President Yoon declared that Korea aims for a free, peaceful, and prosperous Indo-Pacific by implementing "the establishment of a rules-based international order based on universal values" and "an open and fair economic order." He also announced the "Korea-ASEAN Solidarity Initiative (KASI)" to strengthen cooperation for inclusive and sustainable economic growth and proposed elevating relations to a "Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP)" through military, economic, and environmental cooperation.

At the ASEAN+3 (Korea, China, Japan) summit held the same day, President Yoon emphasized cooperation between ASEAN and the three countries. Specifically, he stressed actively promoting economic and technological cooperation in various fields such as enhancing the openness of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which came into effect this year, stabilizing supply chains among RCEP member countries, strengthening the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises, and responding to climate change. In particular, he explained plans to establish not only economic cooperation but also a health cooperation system, including ▲ activation of the ASEAN+3 Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization (CMIM) currency swap, ▲ contribution to the ASEAN+3 emergency rice reserve system (APTERR), and ▲ support for food and energy security through the development and dissemination of clean energy.

There was an assessment that Korea is supporting the US Indo-Pacific strategy, which aims to check China's rise in the Indo-Pacific region. In this regard, National Security Office Director Kim Sung-han told reporters, "Solidarity and cooperation among countries that share values are the strongest and most effective means," emphasizing, "It is probably the first time that the Yoon Suk-yeol administration has reflected the protection of universal values such as freedom, human rights, and the rule of law as a core element of its foreign strategy and declared it in a clear tone both domestically and internationally."

However, he clarified that "this does not mean condemning or excluding countries that do not share these values," adding, "We will cooperate with an open attitude aiming for common interests but respond firmly to any attempts to undermine universal values," drawing a line against interpretations that this is a check against China. Regarding this, he elaborated, "Whether it is the US, China, or Japan, the general principle of not putting all eggs in one basket and efforts to diversify risks are urgently required for our country as well."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.