China’s military buildup and failure to condemn North Korean aggression are helping Japan and South Korea overcome their economic rivalry and a decades-long legacy of distrust to pursue closer military ties.
Japanese Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa and his South Korean counterpart Kim Kwan Jin hold talks in Seoul today, the first in almost two years. Each country sent observers to the other’s military drills with the U.S. for the first time last year, following attacks by Kim Jong Il’s regime that killed 50 South Koreans.
The threat from North Korea may blunt opposition in the south driven by animosity toward Japan for its 1910-1945 occupation of the Korean peninsula. Closer ties between Asia’s two most developed exporters and main U.S. allies may also irk China, which bridles at America’s presence in a region where it wants to exert greater influence.
“China surely won’t approve of this, not to mention the strong opposition from South Koreans who still have bad feelings against Japan,” said Choi Jong Kun, a professor of political science and international studies at Yonsei University in Seoul. “The military relationship between South Korea and Japan still has a lot of hurdles to overcome.”
Kitazawa on Jan. 5 said he wants to discuss with Kim an agreement to share military goods and services, which Japan already has with the U.S. and Australia. South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense said that while no agreements will be signed, the meeting will “provide an opportunity to strengthen military ties to a higher level.”
Legacy of Occupation
South Korea says 176,000 of its citizens were drafted by Japan as soldiers, labor workers and sex slaves during the occupation. Japan’s Prime Minister Naoto Kan in August offered “deep remorse” for the annexation, which South Korean President Lee Myung Bak called “a step forward,” while noting there were still issues to be resolved, including victims compensation.
Japan and South Korea are also industrial rivals. While South Korea’s gross domestic product remains about a sixth of Japan’s, its economy has outperformed that of its neighbor in every quarter bar one for the past 10 years. Korea’s benchmark Kospi Index quadrupled in that period. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Share Index fell by about a quarter.
Suwon, South Korea-based Samsung Electronics Co. overtook Sony Corp., based in Tokyo, as the world’s largest maker of flat-panel televisions in the past decade, and is now the most- profitable company in the two countries. Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., based in Ulsan, helped South Korea take Japan’s place as the world’s biggest shipbuilding nation.
U.S. Urging
The U.S. is urging South Korea and Japan to boost military cooperation after North Korea on Nov. 23 shelled Yeonpyeong Island, killing four people. The U.S. and Japan also backed an international report that found a North Korean torpedo sank one of the South’s warships in March, killing 46 sailors.
Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on Dec. 8 in Seoul that he hopes U.S. military exercises with South Korea will include Japanese participation to “cement our unified position on the threat posed by North Korea.”
China, North Korea’s biggest ally, refused to condemn either attack and criticized the Japan-U.S. drills in December as an obstacle to easing regional tension.
“Some are playing with knives and guns while China is criticized for calling for dialogue, is that fair?” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said on Dec. 2.
Credit Market Concerns
The cost of insuring Japanese and South Korea government debt jumped after the shelling. South Korea’s five-year credit default swaps rose 17 percent on Nov. 23, the biggest one-day gain in two years, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Japan’s CDS gained 27 percent in the six days following the attack.
“It’s important for the U.S., South Korea and Japan to cooperate more closely at a time when the Korean peninsula is increasingly unstable,” said Tsuneo Watanabe, a senior fellow at the Tokyo Foundation think-tank. “Japan-South Korean accords are vital for smooth operations among the three countries.”
Today’s talks coincide with U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ visit to China to mend military ties cut off a year ago after the U.S. announced a $6.4 billion arms sale to Taiwan.
Gates two days ago said Chinese military development has “the potential to put some of our capabilities at risk,” adding that the Asian country may be developing a stealth fighter more quickly than the U.S. had believed. It marked the second time in a week a Pentagon official had said the U.S. may have underestimated the speed of China’s weapons development.
Japan last month said it would shift the focus of its national defense toward China in a report that criticized a “lack of transparency” in Chinese military spending.
“South Korea’s rising global profile has helped it overcome its minority complex toward Japan,” said Dong Yong Sueng, a fellow on economic security at the Samsung Economic Research Institute in Seoul. “The current geopolitical situation serves as a good opportunity for them to overcome their history.”
Source: www.bloomberg.com
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