South Korea should adhere to pragmatic diplomacy to safeguard its national interests as Washington steps up pressure on Seoul to clarify its role in countering China, analysts have said.
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They warned that leaning too far towards the United States under a transactional President Donald Trump could trap South Korea diplomatically and leave it with little room to manoeuvre amid growing global uncertainty.
The warnings came in response to remarks by a senior Pentagon official, who said on Tuesday that many South Korean defence capabilities could contribute to deterring an assertive China.
“Based on the alliance with the US but keeping national interests front and centre, South Korea should chart its path case by case to navigate the increasingly volatile diplomatic seas,” Doo Jin-ho, a defence analyst at the Korea Research Institute for National Strategy (Krins), told This Week in Asia.
“South Korea cannot afford to lose China, its largest trading partner, especially when the US is hitting its traditional allies with harsh tariffs and its commitment to their defence is not as firm as in the past.”
South Korea’s Lee says Seoul prepared to shoulder defence costs
South Korea’s Lee says Seoul prepared to shoulder defence costs
Hong Min, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification (Kinu), said “pragmatism” and “national interests” had become Seoul’s guiding principles as it sought to withstand Washington’s push to have it explicitly declare its role in containing China.