South China Morning Post
22 March 2021
- RSIS
- Media Mentions
- Japan, South Korea Take Different Approaches to China Relations
Japan, South Korea Take Different Approaches to China Relations
Japan and South Korea displayed different approaches to handling their relationships with China when they hosted the United States’ top diplomat and defence chief last week, with Tokyo adopting a harder stance to Beijing and Seoul working to avoid being caught up in a power struggle. Dr Frederick Kliem, a Visiting Fellow at RSIS, said Blinken’s trip highlighted the different priorities of Japan and South Korea. “Japan is seriously concerned about China’s assertiveness in the Western Pacific, especially the East and South China seas. That represents a tangible security threat for Tokyo, which, as things stand, has neither the desire nor the means to balance the Chinese threat without the US. Dr. Sarah Teo, a Research Fellow at the RSIS, said: “I think that South Korea’s approach towards China is shaped in large part by the fact that Seoul will need Beijing’s support in its policy towards North Korea.
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