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asia policy
South Korea and the South China Sea:
A Domestic and International Balancing Act
Lee Jaehyon
South Korea has long been unclear on its stance regarding the territorial
disputes in the South China Sea. For many years, the closest thing
the government had to an official position was the consistent but vague
statements of successive spokespeople from the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs. These statements essentially noted that the Republic of Korea
(ROK) supported freedom of navigation in the South China Sea and hoped
the parties involved would resolve the disputes in a peaceful manner
through dialogue.
In 2015, however, there was a slight but crucial change in that position.
There had long been rumors that South Korea was under pressure from
the United States to clarify its position on the South China Sea. Then, in
November, Defense Minister Han Min-goo delivered remarks at the ASEAN
Defense Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) stating that freedom of
navigation and overflight must be guaranteed and that the disputes should be
resolved in a peaceful manner. 1 Later that month, President Park Geun-hye
went a step further at the East Asia Summit in Malaysia when she stated that
concerned parties should observe the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties
in the South China Sea and that disputes should be resolved according
to international law. She went on to assert that concerned countries must
respect the promise of demilitarizing the South China Sea, which was
widely interpreted as supporting the U.S. position on the disputes. At the
2015 East Asia Summit, Park argued that “Korea has consistently stressed
that the dispute must be peacefully resolved according to international
agreements and code of conduct” and “China must guarantee the right of
free navigation and flight.” 2
lee jaehyon is a Senior Research Fellow in the ASEAN and Oceania Studies Program in the Center
for Regional Studies and the Director of External Relations at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies. He
can be reached at .
1 “Freedom of Navigation Should Be Guaranteed in Disputed South China Sea: S. Korean Defense
Minister,” Yonhap News Agency, November 4, 2015 u http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/2015/
11/04/0200000000AEN20151104008751315.html.
2 “Park Appeals to Beijing on South China Sea,” Korea Joongang Daily, November 24, 2015 u
http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/Article.aspx?aid=3011908.
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