Elbridge Colby Quoted in VOA Korea

If South Korea takes neutrality between the United States and China, it would in fact be interpreted as being on the Chinese side, a former senior U.S. Department of Defense official said. Analysis has also been raised that South Korea is choosing a strategic ambiguity between the United States and China. Reporter Kim Young-gyo reports.

Elbridge Colby, former deputy assistant secretary for strategic military affairs at the US Department of Defense, argued on the 22nd that if South Korea takes neutrality in the hegemonic competition between the United States and China, it is in fact moving toward China.

Former Deputy Assistant Secretary Colby said at an online video conference held by the George Washington Institute for Korean Studies on the theme of’US-Korea relations in the era of US-China strategic competition’, it is a dangerous path for Korea to’walk the tightrope’ between the US and China. He said that he thought.

[Recording: Former Assistant Secretary Colby] “I think it would be a dangerous course for Korea to try to skate in between the United States and China. Both the United States and Beijing are going to have an incentive to draw Korea one way or the other. And in fact, a neutral position probably would be in effect would be moving over to the Beijing side.

Former Deputy Assistant Secretary Colby said the United States and China will come up with incentives in some way to attract South Korea.

However, he said it would not be an easy option as Korea is in a difficult geopolitical position, but the United States is a country that wants Korea and Japan, Vietnam and India to be independent.

[Recording: Former Assistant Secretary Colby] “Obviously, Korea has a very tough geopolitical position, so it’s not an easy choice, but I think the United States is the distant power has an interest in independent states like South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, India , whereas China is seeking to establish a discord of the US government and other governments, is trying to establish a predominant position where it can direct domestic affairs and of course, the foreign and defense policies of local states, including South Korea.”

On the other hand, China is trying to create a discord between the United States and other countries, and is trying to gain an upper hand to control domestic and foreign and security policies of countries in the region such as Korea.

Former Deputy Assistant Secretary Colby said economically the United States would “decouple” itself from China, encouraging others to do something similar.

VOA Korea