“Economy is Security, Security is Economy”:
Will South Korea set an example for other Eastern Asian countries?
By: Jianli Yang & Xueli Wang – June 16th, 2022
The fact that President Joe Biden chose South Korea as the first stop of his first Asian tour since his inauguration is significant. Washington and Seoul are seeking to upgrade their military alliance into a “comprehensive global strategic alliance.” But they also want to upgrade their economic ties into a “technological alliance,” with the intent of developing technology and supply chain collaboration based on shared values. South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol described the US–South Korean partnership as an “economic and security” alliance, emphasizing that “economy is security, and security is economy.”
This statement may shed light on the untold dilemma of East Asian countries in recent years.
These countries’ security depends on the United States, and their economies on China. Over the past two decades, most East Asian countries have struggled to maneuver between these two superpowers. This has been true for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries as well as for Japan and South Korea, which have always had close military alliances with the United States. Singapore is also a leading advocate of a balanced diplomatic relationship between China and the United States. In his book Hard Truths to Keep Singapore Going, Lee Kuan Yew, the late Singaporean prime minister, describes how diminutive Singapore had to struggle to thrive among its powerful neighbors while… [Continue Reading]
Source: https://providencemag.com/2022/06/economy-is-security-security-is-economy-will-south-korea-set-an-example-for-other-eastern-asian-countries/