South Korea Is Staying Out of the U.S.-China Rivalry

South Korea Is Staying Out of the U.S.-China Rivalry
South Korean President Moon Jae-in meets with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, right, in Seoul, March 18, 2021 (AP photo by Lee Jin-man).

South Koreans often refer to their country with a famous proverb: “In a fight between whales, the shrimp’s back gets broken.” But rather than a shrimp, Seoul is betting that it can become a dolphin, giving it more agency and maneuverability as competition heats up between the United States and China.

Getting it right would allow the country to balance its security alliance with the United States along with its economic dependence on China. Getting it wrong would see South Korea alienated in the region, distrusted by both Washington and Beijing. This balance will prove difficult, but South Korean leaders are unlikely to stop trying.

Among East Asia-watchers in the U.S., Seoul’s hypothesized “tilt” toward China has become something of an obsession—especially under the presidency of Moon Jae-in. Upon taking office in 2017, Moon faced a Chinese economic pressure campaign in 2017 over his predecessor’s decision to install the U.S.-made Terminal High Altitude Area Defense missile system, known as THAAD. He sought to normalize relations with Beijing by agreeing to the “three no’s”—no more THAAD deployments, no South Korean integration into a regional U.S. missile defense system, and no trilateral military alliance with the U.S. and Japan. This was cast by many experts in Washington as a reward for China’s bad behavior, even though the agreement amounted to little in practice.

Keep reading for free!

Get instant access to the rest of this article by submitting your email address below. You'll also get access to three articles of your choice each month and our free newsletter:

Or, Subscribe now to get full access.

Already a subscriber? Log in here .

What you’ll get with an All-Access subscription to World Politics Review:

A WPR subscription is like no other resource — it’s like having a personal curator and expert analyst of global affairs news. Subscribe now, and you’ll get:

  • Immediate and instant access to the full searchable library of tens of thousands of articles.
  • Daily articles with original analysis, written by leading topic experts, delivered to you every weekday.
  • Regular in-depth articles with deep dives into important issues and countries.
  • The Daily Review email, with our take on the day’s most important news, the latest WPR analysis, what’s on our radar, and more.
  • The Weekly Review email, with quick summaries of the week’s most important coverage, and what’s to come.
  • Completely ad-free reading.

And all of this is available to you when you subscribe today.

More World Politics Review