Is Pres. Park ready to answer to Pres. Obama`s request about `dealings with China`

After the Korea-U.S. summit talk with South Korean President Park Geun-hye in the White House on Friday, U.S. President Barack Obama revealed his intentions towards Korea`s role in diplomatic relations with China. "The only thing that we`re going to continue to insist on is that we want China to abide by international norms and rules," said President Obama. "Where they fail to do so, we expect the Republic of Korea to speak out on that, just as we do." The U.S. has expressed unprecedented concerns in media about Korea`s diplomatic policies.

What Obama had in mind when he said "international norms and rules" is that China recently claimed territorial rights over the South China Sea and started making artificial islands and building military bases. The U.S. demanded an immediate cessation with a warning that the U.S. will exercise the right of free passage enacted in international rules. China responded that if a U.S. battleship approaches the Spratly Islands within 12 nautical miles, it will counterattack. From this response we know that the U.S. and China may actually go through an armed clash. "If they`re able to act with impunity and ignore rules whenever they please, that`s not going to be good for you," said Obama, explaining the reason behind his request for Korea’s intervention.

During this summit, President Park did her best to dispel the U.S.’s concerns that Korea started leaning toward China. She also tried to reassert that the Korea-U.S. alliance stands strong. As a result, the two heads of state signed a joint statement on North Korea issues for the first time. However, Park failed to persuade Obama to transfer the key technology for Korean Fighter Experimental (KFX) development, which seems to show the limit of the alliance. The limit was also seen when the U.S. showed a tepid response to Korea`s belated intention to join the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The U.S. sought to determine if Korea is a valued ally, like Japan that does not hesitate to take part in the policy of "congagement” (the combination of containment and engagement) toward China, or an unfaithful ally that only takes ambiguous positions worrying about how China would react. Even though the South Korean government is crediting itself for its contribution to the "best-ever" alliance with the U.S., now is not really the right time to brag about receiving "love calls" from China and the U.S. when Korea and the U.S. are having different views and strategies on China.

The U.S.-China conflict and struggle for supremacy affects many areas, such as cyber security, human rights, and exchange rate manipulation, putting South Korea in the difficult position of having to choose between the two countries. The reality is that President Park`s pro-China diplomatic strategy is inevitable for national interest, but she should not weaken the Korea-U.S. alliance. It is also important to see if the responsibility for the poor diplomatic decisions is shared with those who make and implement diplomatic policies at President Park`s service, including Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se, Defense Minister Han Min-goo, National Security Office chief Kim Kwan-jin and Senior Presidential Secretary for Foreign Affairs and National Security Ju Chul-ki. This may be a good time for an interim check to determine if the government should adhere to the current foreign and security policies in the second half of the administration. We should not miss the timing again at least for supplementary revision of policies or personnel reshuffle.