FO° Live: Can South Korea Be Useful to the Quad?

The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or Quad, consists of the US, India, Japan and Australia. The four powers want to counter China but have had trouble finding a common direction. Including South Korea, a strong democracy, US ally and key high-tech manufacturer, could breathe new life into the group — but only if it is willing to accept that taking a hard line against China will involve forming a military alliance with security guarantees.

Print

In this episode of FO° Live, FO° Editor-in-Chief Atul Singh speaks with Jaewoo Choo, a professor of Chinese foreign policy in the Department of Chinese Studies at Kyung Hee University, South Korea, and Haruko Satoh, a professor at the Osaka School of International Public Policy, Japan. The matter at hand is South Korea’s potential membership in the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or Quad.

The Quad is a grouping of four major Indo-Pacific democracies: the United States, India, Japan and Australia. It was relaunched in 2017 to counterbalance China’s growing influence by promoting a free and open Indo-Pacific through cooperation in security, infrastructure and trade.

Despite this ambition, the Quad faces significant limitations. Critics argue it remains a "talking shop," where dialogue seldom leads to concrete action. Additionally, some members have limited bilateral experience working together, which hampers effective collaboration.

South Korea was notably absent when Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe first conceived the Quad in 2007. Abe’s vision was geographically focused; he pictured a rhombus with its corners in Japan (north), Australia (south), the US (east) and India (west). The idea was to cover ground and secure critical shipping lanes. This left South Korea, located in the middle, outside the equation.

Yet, South Korea has considerable strengths. South Korea and Japan, are the only two economic powers in the region that can plausibly compete with China in building infrastructure rapidly and at scale. South Korea is also a strong defense partner of the US, with a technologically advanced military boasting half a million active personnel — ten times the size of Australia’s. Moreover, South Korea is a leader in global industries like shipbuilding, memory chips and electric vehicle batteries, making it not just a regional player but a global one. Most importantly and obviously, it is a vibrant democracy. For all these reasons, it merits membership in the Quad.

The broader context is the growing security threat posed by China, which seeks to control sea lanes in the East and South China Seas and use its economic power to influence its neighbors. While it makes sense for South Korea to join the Quad, it is unlikely to make provocative moves against China, its largest trading partner and greatest military threat, without a security guarantee from the US. Ultimately, the Quad (or Quint) seems destined to evolve into a military alliance.

[Anton Schauble wrote the first draft of this piece.]

The views expressed in this article/video are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Fair Observer’s editorial policy.

Comment

Leave a comment

FO° Exclusive: Mario Draghi Calls for a New European Industrial Policy

October 01, 2024

FO° Exclusive: Colossal and Historic American Election

September 29, 2024

FO° Exclusive: Middle East Tense as Israel Now Hits Hezbollah Hard

September 27, 2024

FO° Talks: The Truth About the Rape Case That Sent West Bengal Into a Tailspin

September 15, 2024

FO° Live: Can South Korea Be Useful to the Quad?

September 13, 2024

FO° Exclusive: New Twists and Turns in Astonishing US Presidential Election

September 06, 2024

FO° Talks: Now Is the Time to Invite South Korea in and Turn Quad Into Quintet

September 05, 2024

FO° Talks: America’s New Fast-Changing Role in the Middle East Part 2

August 24, 2024

FO° Exclusive: Warm Middle East Is Now Getting Boiling Hot

August 18, 2024

FO° Talks: Can the US Handle an International System Under Enormous Strain?

August 17, 2024

FO° Talks: SCOTUS Creates Tantalizing Opportunities to Overturn 40-Year-Old Rules

August 16, 2024

FO° Talks: Can Europe Vote Itself Out of Its Crisis?

FO° Talks: America’s New Fast-Changing Role in the Middle East, Part 1

August 04, 2024

FO° Talks: Make Sense of the Maker Space Movement in India

FO° Exclusive: Russia Has Kicked Off a New Charm Offensive

July 23, 2024

FO° Exclusive: Volatile Europe Catches New Election Fever

July 22, 2024

FO° Exclusive: Hezbollah and Israel Tensions Continue to Worsen

July 18, 2024

FO° Talks: Divided Israel Faces New Hezbollah Threats and Rising US Tensions

July 11, 2024

FO° Talks: The Evolving Role of Diplomats in a New World Order

June 26, 2024

FO° Talks: Make Sense of India’s Big, Young Democracy

 

Fair Observer, 461 Harbor Blvd, Belmont, CA 94002, USA