The Ministry of National Defense released a white paper on the 2020 national defense, in which the description of Japan changed from “partner” to “neighbor”, and the number of references to the Dokdo issue involving sovereignty disputes also increased, and the position towards Japan seems to be more hardened, and the outside world is concerned about whether this affects the situation in Northeast Asia.
The Ministry of National Defense released a white paper on the 2020 national defense on the 2nd, which shows Korean soldiers. (Photo/reproduced from the Korean Ministry of Defense Facebook)
The Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Korea publishes a defense white paper every two years, and in the 2018 white paper, it called South Korea and Japan as geographically and culturally similar neighbors, as well as partners who work together for world peace and prosperity; but in the 2020 white paper, it changed to call Japan “a neighboring country that must work together for peace and prosperity in Northeast Asia and the world, in addition to the relationship between the two countries”.
Although the South Korean side stated that this change in terminology was coordinated with The Japanese Foreign Ministry and both sides considered the use of the expression “neighboring countries” appropriate, some South Korean media described the change as a “downgrading”. The Yonhap news agency also reported that the change shows the deterioration of Korea-Japan relations.
Some analysts believe that the change in terminology is a reaction to the deletion of the “extensive cooperation” narrative with South Korea in Japan’s 2020 defense white paper released last July.
In addition, Korea’s 2020 defense white paper, as in previous years, includes a paragraph on the dispute over Dokdo (known as Takeshima in Japan) in the description of exchanges and cooperation between Korea and Japan, saying that some Japanese political leaders distort historical facts and claim sovereignty over Dokdo. The same backlash from the Japanese government was met with no concessions from the South Korean Defense Ministry, which deemed Japan’s protest inappropriate and unacceptable to the South.
The U.S. Department of Defense said today that South Korea and Japan are the most important allies in the region for the U.S., and stressed that cooperation between the U.S., South Korea and Japan is essential in dealing with the North Korean nuclear issue, weapons of mass destruction (WMD), ballistic missiles and other threats, as well as maintaining international order and regional peace.
Compared to Japan, South Korea’s defense white paper is much kinder to China, not only removing the dispute over THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Defense) in 2016, but also adding that the current President Moon Jae-in held a summit between South Korea and China in 2017 after taking office and began to promote the “normalization” of relations between the two countries.
As for North Korea, which poses the greatest threat to South Korea, the two defense white papers released after Moon took office no longer describe North Korea as an “enemy,” but this white paper also lists North Korea’s current military strength as “a threat to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.
The North Korean issue has always been a top priority in South Korea’s foreign and defense policy. Xi Jinping, in a recent phone call with Moon Jae-in, expressed his active support for South Korea’s efforts to denuclearize the country, and it appears that the pro-China Policy of the Moon administration since taking office has finally been reciprocated.
At the same Time, on the issue of wartime operational command, which has been under discussion in recent years between South Korea and the U.S., a long-time ally in defense of North Korea, the narrative in this white paper has been changed from the previous “stable promotion” to “acceleration,” which shows South Korea’s intention to take the lead.
However, the Chosun Ilbo editorial pointed out that South Korea still relies on U.S. military assistance for its defense of North Korea, and whether its own operational capabilities are sufficient to take over operational command and whether U.S. forces are willing to follow the South Korean command will be a major variable.
Coupled with the strained relations between South Korea and Japan, the U.S. hopes to maintain the tripartite cooperation, the situation in Northeast Asia will remain to be seen how the changes.
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