"China in a Boiling Situation... Concerns Over South Korea's Participation in Military Sanctions"

Moon Ilhyun, Professor at China Zhengfa University, KBS Interview
"Korea worries about China's military involvement in sensitive issues"

Moon Il-hyun, a professor at China Zhengfa University, said about the South Korea-US joint summit statement, "Although China was not specifically mentioned, everyone feels that it is aimed at us (from China's perspective)," adding, "Internally, the situation is boiling over."

In an interview with KBS Radio's 'Choi Kyung-young's Strongest Current Affairs' on the 28th, Professor Moon pointed out that the most notable part of the South Korea-US joint summit statement was the designation of China's South China Sea territorial claims as illegal.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Professor Moon said that while the mention of Taiwan in the joint statement was at a similar level to the past, the reference to the South China Sea became more assertive, causing China to react strongly.

He also said that the phrase "responding to economic coercion" means, "It seems to imply that countries with the same stance will jointly respond to neutralize China's economic sanctions," and added, "China is on high alert about the meaning behind this phrase."

Professor Moon said, "What is concerning is that South Korea is stated to participate in the US Indo-Pacific strategy, which could open the possibility of South Korean warships passing through the South China Sea or the Taiwan Strait under the banner of freedom of navigation, thus potentially joining military sanctions against China."

He continued, "China has long viewed that the US has made several attempts to militarily involve South Korea," and added, "There is worry that South Korea might ultimately participate militarily in sensitive issues such as the South China Sea."

Regarding the South Korea-US joint statement, Professor Moon analyzed China's official protest on the night of the 27th, when Kang Sang-wook, Political Counselor at the South Korean Embassy in China, was summoned, saying, "The fact that the counselor was summoned instead of the ambassador seems to indicate that China is trying to moderate the level of its response."

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