South Korea affirms cool Japan relations, warm China ties in defence white paper

Seoul has dropped a reference to Tokyo as a ‘partner’ in the document, but pledged to develop closer ties with Beijing – prompting a reaction from Washington

An analyst says the paper, written last year, failed to take into account growing momentum within the Moon administration to normalise ties with Japan

Reading Time:4 minutes

South Korean army special forces take part in a 2019 military drill at Dokdo islets, which are also claimed by Japan. Photo: AFP

Published: 3:17pm, 3 Feb 2021Updated: 11:37pm, 3 Feb 2021

South Korea’s defence ministry has dropped its description of Japan as a “partner” in its latest defence white paper, while highlighting better relations with China – prompting Washington to stress that Tokyo and Seoul are its most important allies in maintaining peace and security in Asia.

The 2020 Defence White Paper, published on Tuesday, described South Korea and Japan as “close neighbours”, in contrast to the previous biennial report published in early 2019 that described the countries as “geographically and culturally close neighbours as well as partners cooperating for global peace and prosperity”.

The 2020 paper also dropped a reference to China reacting strongly to South Korea’s 2016 decision to deploy a hi-tech US missile defence system. The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) was intended as a shield against North Korea’s missile threat, but Beijing believed the system could penetrate its territory and retaliated by banning outbound tours to South Korea and hitting its economy hard through other restrictions.

Instead, the paper noted that efforts to broker better ties began with South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s first year in office in 2017, when both sides held a summit. Bilateral defence cooperation would be challenging given the Covid-19 pandemic, it said, but the countries would continue communicating and bolstering exchanges to develop “bilateral ties steadily and to secure peace and prosperity on the Korean peninsula and the region”.

The references reflect Seoul’s ongoing intent to maintain good relations with its largest trading partner, China, even as the new administration in the United States under President Joe Biden seeks to bring Washington and Tokyo together as a bulwark against Beijing’s influence in the region.

But Professor Lee Won-deog of Kukmin University, an expert on Korea-Japan relations, said the white paper, edited months earlier, had failed to keep up with “subtle changes” in Seoul’s policy stance towards Tokyo.

“Concerns are growing in the Moon government over the fraught ties with Japan, and efforts to normalise them are gaining momentum,” he said, pointing to Seoul’s “low-key” reaction to a court ruling last month that ordered Tokyo to pay 100 million Korean won (US$89,300) each to 12 Korean women forced to work as sex slaves for Japanese troops during World War II.

Select Voice

Choose your listening speed

Get through articles 2x faster

1.25x

250 WPM

Slow

Average

Fast

00:0000:00

1.25x