New tensions between Beijing and Seoul. The Chinese ambassador to South Korea criticized Thursday, June 8 the proximity between the United States and the country of Morning Calm, which did not fail to react to the South Korean government. A comment deemed provocative and intolerable by the latter, which reminds us that Korea does not have to have its foreign policy dictated to it. But difficult to answer for Seoul, caught between Beijing, its first trading partner, and Washington, its military ally.
With our correspondent in Seoul, Celio Fioretti
” Those who bet on the defeat of China will regret it. This is how Xing Haiming, Chinese ambassador to South Korea, said Thursday, criticizing the closeness between Seoul and Washington. A comment which did not fail to react to the South Korean Foreign Ministry which summoned the Chinese diplomat.
The tone between the two countries had already risen in April after the South Korean president’s remarks about maintaining the status quo between China and Taiwan. If South Korea wants to stand firm against Chinese comments, it is caught in a vice.
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An uncomfortable position for Seoul
As Cho Tae-young, South Korean security adviser, recalled the next day, Beijing is Seoul’s largest trading partner with 23% of the country’s exports. It’s hard to get angry with China, which also plays an important role in the North Korean issue.
In addition, 2023 marks the 70th anniversary of the military alliance between the United States and South Korea. Fforged in the Korean War, this alliance materialized on 1er October 1953 into a mutual defense treaty. A very uncomfortable position for Seoul in the showdown between Beijing and Washington.
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