Will South Korea’s Indo-Pacific strategy ‘imitate’ US to counter China’s regional influence?

Experts say Seoul needs to come up with its own, unique plan as multi-nation race into Indo-Pacific region heats up, rather than simply fall in line with what America wants

‘We need to always contemplate the bigger picture’, professor warns as he sees South Korean policy moving ‘further away from China’

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US President Joe Biden met South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol during a trip to Asia in May. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 6:00am, 22 Jul 2022Updated: 9:36am, 22 Jul 2022

South Korea needs to devise a “strategy that fits into the gap” between the United States and China’s hegemonic race into the Indo-Pacific region, according to analysts.

Their recommendation comes after South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol revealed a plan in May to formulate the country’s own Indo-Pacific strategy framework.

Announced in a joint statement after US President Joe Biden’s visit to Seoul, the plan could herald a significant policy shift for South Korea. It also came after South Korea said it would participate in the US-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, which is aimed at countering China’s regional influence.

“It’s really essential that we put a lot of thought into how we are going to find our place in the context of the intensifying hegemonic race between the US and China and the reorganising of orders in the Indo-Pacific region,” said Kim Sang-bae, a professor of international politics at Seoul National University.

The previous Moon Jae-in administration’s regional policies, referred to as the New Southern Policy, encompassed only Southeast Asian countries.