뉴스레터

East Asia has emerged as the center of the international order. While the Korean peninsula and Taiwan issues remain unresolved and linger as legacies of the Cold War, changes are already underway for a new regional order. The rise of China is driving this change. Based on its economic growth, China is looking to realize its goals and satisfy its wants through active engagement [有所作爲], thereby continually expanding its political influence not only in East Asia but globally.

In the meantime, the United States is formulating a new foreign affairs and security framework in order to respond to China's rise and the ensuing changes in East Asia and in the international order. Such a move by the United States is another driver of the change in the East Asian regional order. Against the backdrop of a rising China and the changes in East Asia, the Japanese government recently stressed the need for Japan to improve its relations with its neighbors. As a concrete symbol of Japan's commitment, the Hatoyama cabinet officially proposed the East Asian Community (EAC) that would include the United States.

Thus, the major powers in East Asia are taking steps in accordance with their respective forecast for the changes in the regional order. EAC is a part of this trend as well as a national policy strategy each country has consciously adopted. However, the deepening of interdependence in a given region does not necessarily lead to a regional community. A regional community is the result of deliberate strategies and efforts toward mutual cooperation that are founded on shared principles, norms, and rules.

East Asia's emergence as the center of international relations

Through the study "Status and Outlook of the Discussion on the East Asian Community," the research team sought to examine the possibility of the EAC in formulating Korea's response to the changes in the East Asian regional order. To this end, the team looked at Korea, China, and Japan's perceptions of East Asia, with a special focus on the three countries' respective policies and strategies to build an East Asian community that would maximize each of their respective national interest.

China takes a territory-based approach to East Asia. China is wary of going beyond the geographical boundaries of East Asia and including the United States and Russia in the EAC. Since the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, China has striven to become the regional hegemon. This is to secure a stable market for China by regulating the regional environment to attract overseas investments into China and facilitating regional trade. There is also a strategic consideration of wanting to keep the United State's regional hegemony in check and achieve a regional balance of power.

In contrast, Japan conceives of an East Asia that is much larger in scope, and pursues the inclusion of a wider range of member states. In the 1990s, East Asia was considered a combination of Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia. However, starting in the 21st century, Japan began to include Oceania and some South Asian countries as a part of East Asia as well. This is indicative of Japan's calculus that a more extensive and inclusive East Asia will be more effective in keeping China's rise in check and maintaining a regional balance of power.

China and Japan's perceptions of and strategies for East Asia are active and aggressive, linked to the two nations' competition for regional leadership. In contrast, Korea has a passive perception of and strategy for East Asia; Korea simply seeks to adapt to the changes that take place around the Korean peninsula. In general, Korea's regional categorization is as follows: Asia-Pacific, Northeast Asia, and East Asia. However, the categorization has been malleable, adjusted according to the changes in the international political order and the domestic political situation. That is, Korea has not pursued a consistent and coherent EAC policy aimed at a specific strategic objective. Rather, Korea has adjusted its stance in accordance with the changes in the region's geopolitical dynamics.

Korea should pursue a flexible strategy for a four-power system

"Status and Outlook of the Discussion on the East Asian Community" analyzes why Korea lacks an East Asian strategy and argues for the need for Korea to formulate one. The study proposes a flexible strategy that takes into consideration the possibility of continued U.S. hegemony; China's growing influence; and the balance of power under the traditional 4-power system comprised of the United States, China, Japan, and Russia.

First, Korea should forge multiple strategic relations with its neighbors. Second, Korea, harnessing its soft power, should play a leading role in shaping the fundamental changes in the regional order of East Asia, thereby contributing to the creation of EAC. Third, Korea should link the Korea issue to the EAC and strive to do its part in EAC's formation. Fourth, Korea should focus on resolving historical issues and building a regional identity to ease extreme competition in the international political arena. Fifth, Korea must push forth a regional community strategy that makes most of the principles of market peace and democratic peace. Sixth, the EAC must be pursued on the basis of the region's shared issues, especially human security. Finally, the strategy needs to allow for the peaceful coexistence of a regional identity and national identities.

The given study is not limited to the discussion of the EAC and Korea, China, and Japan's regional policies for East Asia. It also examines EAC discourses and related regional perceptions and their relationship with the respective strategies pursued by the three nations. The study is also significant in that it provides a sweeping overview of Korea, China, and Japan's steps toward realizing their respective EAC policies and strategies thus far. Therefore, the study can provide a lot of useful information to future research projects related to the EAC. The given study does not address the regional strategy Korea must take as a country wedged between major powers. It also does not discuss how Korea should plan and implement its EAC strategy. These are some of the topics that future EAC-related research should address.