Military, economic ties focus of Sino-Korea dialogue

Young Koreans and Chinese met at the first Korea-China Dialogue on the Future. About 20 scholars from the two countries participated in the two-day event, which opened Monday at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Seoul. The dialogue is sponsored by the JoongAng Ilbo, together with the Chinese Academy of Social Science and Posco Research Institute.
The discussions revolve around issues in the political environment of East Asia in the 21st century, including peace on the Korean Peninsula. While the participants shared many views and ideas, on certain topics they stood on different sides. The dialogue is organized to focus on five main areas ― politics, military issues, economics, culture and the Northeast Project of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
The biggest disagreement was over military issues. Participants agreed that the two countries have achieved progress in their relationships, but not where the military is concerned. “Military diplomacy between Korea and China is still on the level of simple exchanges,” said Ha Do-hyeong, a professor at the National Defense University. “even that mere exchange is not balanced.” The Korean defense minister visited China officially four times, while his counterpart in China has made only two visits here, he pointed out.
The cause of estrangement was viewed differently by the two countries. Wang Yi-sheng, a researcher at the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, said, “Korea, dependent on U.S. forces, deploys military policies based on a Korea-U.S. alliance. This is blocking the exchange between China and Korea.”
However, Ha of South Korea finds the cause somewhere else. “Korea is active in establishing military relationships with China,” said the professor. “But China wants to avoid irritating North Korea. That’s why Chinese policies are always passive.” This is why the exchange between Korea and China is limited and imbalanced, he observed.
While the scholars debated, Taiwanese soldiers studying in Korea became an issue. Wang claimed, “Korea promised to acknowledge only one China 15 years ago when Korea and China were resuming diplomatic relations.” He said the issue has to be solved. Currently three Taiwanese soldiers are studying in Korea at military academies. The Korean professor proposed a solution to the issue: “When China increases military exchanges with Korea, there will be a time when Korea will not need to exchange with Taiwan.”

By Han Woo-deok JoongAng Ilbo [yhwang@joongang.co.kr]