US President Barack Obama has been drawn into the increasingly tense relations between America’s two closest allies in the region, Japan and South Korea, even before he has officially revealed his planned Asia trip in April.
The sensitivities surrounding his itinerary underscore the difficulties facing the US as it seeks to implement its “pivot” to Asia amid a growing contest for power in the region with an increasingly confident China.
Tensions in the Pacific are high because of territorial disputes between China and its neighbours, in addition to concerns in Beijing and Seoul about the actions and rhetoric of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Mr Obama is likely to travel to Japan, Malaysia and the Philippines, as part of an attempt to recover ground after he cancelled a visit to Asia. But he is also coming under pressure to include a stop in South Korea – a country barely on speaking terms with the government of Mr Abe.
“At a time when relations between Japan and South Korea are so poor, it would look pretty bad if he went to Tokyo and skipped Seoul,” said Victor Cha, a former director of Asian affairs at the National Security Council. “It would be a huge embarrassment to [South Korean president] Park Geun-hye.”
Sino-Japanese relations have been hit hard by the escalating battle over the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, which China claim and call the Diaoyu. Beijing was also incensed when Mr Abe recently visited Yasukuni Shrine, which honours Japan’s war dead including a handful of war criminals.
Meanwhile, the US, Japan and South Korea criticised China for creating an air defence identification zone – a kind of early warning system – over the East China Sea, describing the action as a provocative move during a tense period.
The US has been particularly frustrated at the deterioration in relations between Tokyo and Seoul, as it believes that relationship is important to help check the rise of China in the region, which is one reason that some high-profile Asia experts in the US have been urging Mr Obama to visit South Korea.
The White House on Wednesday said Mr Obama’s travel plans had not been finalised. Asked on Tuesday about a possible visit to South Korea by the president, Danny Russel, the top state department Asia official, said: “I feel confident that there are multiple opportunities for President Obama to travel to Asia.”
In the year since both Ms Park and Mr Abe have been in office, the two leaders have yet to meet. Tensions built up last year over South Korean unhappiness at what it sees as insufficient remorse by Japan for its wartime behaviour in the country, while Tokyo has accused Seoul of adopting an intransigent position.
These tensions were only exacerbated when Mr Abe visited Yasukuni. “The visit hurts us, it puts us in a difficult position,” said Kurt Campbell, the former top state department Asia official. “Tensions between Japan and South Korea cause enormous anxiety in Washington.”
A South Korean government spokeswoman said Seoul hoped that Mr Obama would visit during his trip, following an invitation from Ms Park last year.
“South Korea has always felt that when it came to US priorities in the region, South Korea is second best,” said James Kim, an analyst at the Asian Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul, adding that given their increased economic clout in the world, they would now “like to be considered equals with Japan”.
The sensitivities surrounding his itinerary underscore the difficulties facing the US as it seeks to implement its “pivot” to Asia amid a growing contest for power in the region with an increasingly confident China.
Tensions in the Pacific are high because of territorial disputes between China and its neighbours, in addition to concerns in Beijing and Seoul about the actions and rhetoric of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Mr Obama is likely to travel to Japan, Malaysia and the Philippines, as part of an attempt to recover ground after he cancelled a visit to Asia. But he is also coming under pressure to include a stop in South Korea – a country barely on speaking terms with the government of Mr Abe.
“At a time when relations between Japan and South Korea are so poor, it would look pretty bad if he went to Tokyo and skipped Seoul,” said Victor Cha, a former director of Asian affairs at the National Security Council. “It would be a huge embarrassment to [South Korean president] Park Geun-hye.”
Sino-Japanese relations have been hit hard by the escalating battle over the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, which China claim and call the Diaoyu. Beijing was also incensed when Mr Abe recently visited Yasukuni Shrine, which honours Japan’s war dead including a handful of war criminals.
Meanwhile, the US, Japan and South Korea criticised China for creating an air defence identification zone – a kind of early warning system – over the East China Sea, describing the action as a provocative move during a tense period.
The US has been particularly frustrated at the deterioration in relations between Tokyo and Seoul, as it believes that relationship is important to help check the rise of China in the region, which is one reason that some high-profile Asia experts in the US have been urging Mr Obama to visit South Korea.
The White House on Wednesday said Mr Obama’s travel plans had not been finalised. Asked on Tuesday about a possible visit to South Korea by the president, Danny Russel, the top state department Asia official, said: “I feel confident that there are multiple opportunities for President Obama to travel to Asia.”
In the year since both Ms Park and Mr Abe have been in office, the two leaders have yet to meet. Tensions built up last year over South Korean unhappiness at what it sees as insufficient remorse by Japan for its wartime behaviour in the country, while Tokyo has accused Seoul of adopting an intransigent position.
These tensions were only exacerbated when Mr Abe visited Yasukuni. “The visit hurts us, it puts us in a difficult position,” said Kurt Campbell, the former top state department Asia official. “Tensions between Japan and South Korea cause enormous anxiety in Washington.”
A South Korean government spokeswoman said Seoul hoped that Mr Obama would visit during his trip, following an invitation from Ms Park last year.
“South Korea has always felt that when it came to US priorities in the region, South Korea is second best,” said James Kim, an analyst at the Asian Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul, adding that given their increased economic clout in the world, they would now “like to be considered equals with Japan”.
Source: Business News Hindi
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