South Korea-China relations continue to cripple amid a power vaccum in Korea. (Image: Yonhap)
Seoul, March 10 (Korea Bizwire) — With the impeachment of President Park out of the way once and for all and a new presidential election less than two months away, the political discourse in South Korea is now focused on Beijing’s next move.
A number of momentous decisions were made over the past few days: China forced the closure of more than half of the Lotte Mart stores in the country, the U.S. began the deployment of a THAAD missile defense system in South Korea, and finally the South Korean Constitutional Court voted to uphold the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye.
As concerns continue to grow in South Korea over further Chinese retaliation against the South Korean economy, similar to the sanctions that severely damaged Lotte, the public expects a clear China policy from its next leader.
Since the American military began the process of deploying a THAAD battery on March 7, some experts believe the Chinese government has put the brakes on its retaliatory measures despite the U.S rejecting China’s call for a halt on U.S.-South Korea joint military drills.
The Global Times, a state-owned Chinese tabloid famous for its nationalistic viewpoint, published an editorial yesterday in which it said the U.S. is to blame for THAAD, a change from the anti-South Korean line the newspaper usually takes.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi also seemed to have softened his tone, which some suspect to be a political calculation in response to a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson scheduled for April.
There is also a call for self-examination in China as many Chinese workers will suffer at the expense of economic sanctions against Korean companies.
However, the country’s general sentiment remains highly critical of South Korea, while some experts believe further retaliation in the form of military action is being discussed in the event the current economic sanctions prove ineffective.
With the threat of North Korean missiles increasing as of late, Japan is also reportedly toying with the idea of deploying a THAAD battery.
Rumors were rife last month that Taiwan might be the next country to a host THAAD system after reports in the Hong Kong media. However, Taiwanese government officials rejected the claim yesterday.
Though the spread of THAAD is just speculation at this stage, the idea of a proliferation of U.S. armed forces in East Asia isn’t something China takes lightly.
In a likely scenario, China might focus on restoring its relationship with North Korea while working closely with Russia to oppose THAAD and undercut America’s influence in the region overall.
With the future of the relationship between the two countries still up in the air, Seoul is being urged to come up with countermeasures to minimize the potential damage to both its economy and relations with China in the coming weeks.
Hyunsu Yim (hyunsu@koreabizwire.com)
