As South Korea's president-elect, Yoon Seok-wook, comes to power, relations between China and South Korea have become delicate. After claiming to have discovered a Chinese oil rig in disputed waters between China and South Korea, the Rok side recently speculated that Chinese military aircraft flew into their air defense identification zone. According to the Global Network reported on the 20th, on April 19, local time, South Korean media quoted the South Korean military as reporting that on March 23 this year, a Chinese military plane flew into the "Island of Departure", which China called the South Korean air defense identification zone in the airspace near "Su Rock Reef", and stayed here for about 2 minutes before leaving.
The report claimed that the South Korean Air Force urgently dispatched fighter jets and took normal tactical measures to deal with it. It is reported that the ROK side has more than once hyped up the entry of Chinese military aircraft into the air defense identification zone designated by the ROK military. In response to the South Korean hype, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian responded that the air defense identification zone is not a territorial airspace, and military aircraft of various countries enjoy freedom of overflight in accordance with international law.
However, the South Korean media do not seem to see it this way, they believe that the Chinese military aircraft entering the South Korean air defense identification zone is most likely to test the attitude of South Korea and the United States and countermeasures. Yoon Seok-wook, who will take office as President of South Korea next month, repeatedly spoke before the campaign, saying that after taking office, he would strengthen U.S.-South Korea relations and develop South Korea-U.S. relations into the central axis of South Korea's foreign relations.
At the same time, he also declared that relations with China should be reorganized and that the relationship between China and South Korea in the new era should be based on "the principle that security issues cannot affect economic issues." One detail worth noting is that since his election as President of South Korea, Yoon Seok-yue has sent or will send policy consultation missions to the United States and Japan, respectively, but not to China and Russia.
If Yin Xiyue's dispatch of a policy consultation delegation to the United States is expected by the outside world, then it is somewhat unexpected to send a policy consultation delegation to Japan. During Moon's reign, relations between South Korea and Japan fell into a historical low point because of the historical legacy of World War II and the dispute over the islands, and they are still in a stalemate.
Analysts said Yoon Sent a Policy Consultation Delegation to Japan to convey his intention to improve South Korea-Japan relations. Regarding the South Korean move, a Japanese government official said that kishida Fumio's authorities welcomed it. Analysts pointed out that if the relations between South Korea and Japan "thaw," the situation in Northeast Asia will undergo major changes.
During Moon Jae-in's administration, the ROK maintained a relatively neutral stance between China and the United States, and the ROK did not participate in the small groups formed by the United States, Japan, India, and Australia, and relations with China remained generally healthy and stable. But in contrast, Yin Xiyue's stance on China is much tougher.
Analysts believe that from strengthening US-ROK relations and improving ROK-Japan relations to speculating about Chinese military aircraft flying into the ROK Air Defense Identification Zone, a series of moves before Yin Xiyue officially took office indicate that Sino-ROK relations will face major adjustments in the future, and China must maintain sufficient vigilance against Yin Xiyue's China policy.
But anti-China will not allow Yoon Seok-yue to alleviate South Korea's current predicament. Perhaps the biggest problem in South Korea in recent years has been the social divisions triggered by the struggle of the chaebols in the political parties. In a televised speech at the beginning of his election, Yoon said he would follow public opinion, promote political unity, and build a united and hopeful South Korea.
But now South Korea is a country controlled by chaebols, and although Yoon Seok-yue claims to reform, he does not have the courage to shake the foundation of South Korea's society, so he can only use anti-China sentiment to transfer south Korea's current social contradictions. However, analysts said that anti-China is not Yin Xiyue's long-term solution, and if it is used too much and used too much, it will cause serious consequences, and the worst result may be the deterioration of Sino-South Korean relations, which will affect the economic and trade exchanges between the two countries.
For a country with a population of less than 100 million, economic development will inevitably depend on the external market, and China plays a pivotal role in South Korea's foreign trade and economic cooperation. According to data released by the General Administration of Customs of China, the bilateral trade volume between China and South Korea reached 362.35 billion US dollars in 2021, an increase of 26.9% year-on-year, of which South Korea's exports to China reached 213.49 billion US dollars, an increase of 23.3% year-on-year.
China has been South Korea's largest trading partner for 17 consecutive years, and South Korea has grown to become China's third largest trading partner. From the above data, it is not difficult to see how strong the dependence of the South Korean economy, especially foreign trade, on China is. The potential of the Chinese market is obvious to the international community, and enterprises in many countries have also listed seizing the Chinese market as the first priority.
After Yoon Seok-yue's anti-China remarks, some South Korean companies feared that they might lose the Chinese market that they had painstakingly operated for many years. Facts have proved that a stable and healthy Sino-ROK relationship conforms to the common interests of the two countries and is also conducive to peace and stability in Northeast Asia.
However, if Yoon Seok-yue blindly hypes up the "China threat" and unites the United States and Japan to confront China, the situation in Northeast Asia, which was not stable because of the North Korean nuclear crisis, may become more complicated and dangerous, and South Korea will also "set itself on fire."