By Shannon Tiezzi
Despite close economic and even political ties, China-South Korea military relations are underdeveloped.
South Korea’s army chief of staff, Kim Yo-hwan, is in Beijing this week for visits with Chinese military leaders. On Tuesday, he met with Chinese Defense Minister Chang Wanquan. According to a brief report from Xinhua, Chang “lauded the rapid growth of China-ROK ties,” including the “sound military-to-military relations” between the two countries. Kim, meanwhile, advocated for more military exchanges and defense cooperation between Beijing and Seoul.
There’s been much discussion of the growth of Sino-Korean ties under Chinese President Xi Jinping and South Korean President Park Geun-hye (who both came to power in early 2013). However, the general wisdom holds that South Korea and China are growing closer mostly on the economic front, while Seoul depends on its ally, the United States, for backing on security issues. This dynamic has placed South Korea in an awkward position when it comes to security issues — most notably the deployment of the missile defense system THAAD on the Korean peninsula, something Washington is eager to see and Beijing is just as eager to avoid.
In part, the security gap between China and South Korea stems from Beijing’s unease over Seoul’s relationship with Washington. But just as importantly, from South Korea’s perspective, China’s support for North Korea (which remains the major security threat to Seoul) is a stumbling block to deeper cooperation on defense issues. China’s refusal to support South Korea (or condemn Pyongyang) in the wake of the 2010 sinking of theCheonan, and the subsequent North Korean shelling of Yeonpyeong island, still rankles in Seoul.
Read the full story at The Diplomat