When South Korean President Park Geun-hye visited Washington two years ago, she spoke of “Asia’s paradox” — a disconnect between the region’s growing economic cooperation and its deep political and security tensions.
This dissonance is still evident as Park prepares for another visit to Washington, on June 16, especially in the stand-off between South Korea and Japan over historical issues. Seoul argues that Tokyo hasn’t taken sufficient responsibility for what Koreans say was the “sexual slavery” of their so-called “comfort women.” The dispute poisons relations between two countries that otherwise share similar strategic, economic and cultural interests.
Welcome to the balancing act that is at the center of U.S. leadership in Asia. The definition of good policy is maintaining strong relations simultaneously with Japan, South Korea and China — and encouraging those countries to cooperate with each other, too. It’s a tricky quadrilateral process that depends on strong U.S. alliance management and ability to project military power.
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