• Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.237-258
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• 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the risks of an over-concentration of supply chains in one country. It has motivated stakeholders to pursue diversification strategies. However, a paradox exists. Stakeholders have shied away from a complete decoupling and preferring to selectively enhance economic ties with China. This article explores this paradox by examining supply chain concentration in China as a form of asymmetric interdependence and the countermeasures from the U.S., Japan, Australia, and India to minimize vulnerabilities. It argues that while the COVID-19 disruptions have brought to light the risk of supply chain overconcentration in China, countermeasures are also driven by coercive diplomacy and the deepening U.S.-China rivalry. The paper also examines the feasibility of diversification efforts by focusing on the capacity and capabilities of alternative supply chain hubs. It finds that while states are actively seeking ways to prevent China from using asymmetric interdependence of supply chains and trade to gain political leverage, there are structural limits to the degree of diversification in the short to mid-term.

• Strategy21
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• s.46
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• pp.159-204
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• 2020

This study is written to bring the proposal forward for the direction of south korean naval force. The political situation and the circumstance of the world, especially in the area of Pacific Ocean, are changing very rapidly. North Korea has been always the conventional existing intimidator for South Korea since the 6·25-War. Additionally, the strengthening movements of the national defense, which is easily noticed from China and Russia, is also an other part of intimidating countries against South Korea. Those three mentioned countries are continually developing the asymmetrical warfare systems, for example a strategic nuclear weapon. Since the Obama Administration, the Asia-Pacific Rebalancing-Strategy has been changed as an East Asian foreign policy. Nowadays, Trump Administration renamed the 'United States Pacific-Command' to 'United States Indo-Pacific Command'. The purpose of this is not only letting India to participate in american alliance, but also reducing an economic burden, which is often mentioned in USA. West Germany was located in the very similar geopolitical position during the Cold War just like South Korea these days. And that's why the strategy of West German Navy is worthy of notice for south korean naval force to decide its suitable strategy. Most of all, the two most important things to refer to this study are the plan to expand naval air force and the realistic political stand for us to take it. In conclusion, I laid an emphasis on maintenance of 'green-water-navy'. instead of selecting the strategy as a 'blue-water-navy'. The reason I would like to say, is that south korean navy is not available to hold the unnecessary war potential, just like Aircraft-Carrier. However, this is not meaning to let the expansion of naval force carelessly. We must search the best solution in order to maintain the firm peace within the situation. To fulfill this concept, it is mostly very important to maintain the stream of laying down a keel of destroyers, submarines and air-defense-missile, as well as the hight-tech software system, taking a survey of 4th industrial revolution. Research and development for the best solution of future aircraft by south korean navy is likewise necessary. Besides, we must also set the international diplomatic flexibly. As well as maintaining the relationship with US Forces, it is also very important to improve the relationship with other potential allied nation.

• Strategy21
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• s.43
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• pp.57-88
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• 2018

Security situations are fundamentally and rapidly changing on the Korean Peninsula. Above all, as North Korea(NK) is heightening its nuclear and missile capabilities, Republic of Korea(ROK) is facing an existential threat. At the same time, as China's economic, diplomatic and military power is quickly rising, the balance of power is shifting and strategic competition between the Unite States(US) and China is accelerating in the Asia-Pacific region. Under the pressure of development of these situations, ROK seems to face allegedly the most serious crisis in its national security since the end of the Korean War. In the current grim geopolitical situation, maritime security may become the most difficult security challenge for ROK in the years to come. The purpose of this paper is to compare major changes in maritime security affairs of the ROK during last twenty years from 1998 until now(2018). 1998 was when this journal 『Strategy 21』 was published for the first time by the Korea Institute for Maritime Strategy. Then, this paper tries to identify challenges and risks with which this country has to deal for its survival and prosperity, and to propose some recommendations for the government, the Navy, and the Coast Guard as they are responsible for the maritime security of the country. The recommendations of this paper are as follows: strengthen ROK-US alliance and expand security cooperation with regional powers in support of the maintenance of the current security order in the region; building-up of maritime security capacity in preparation for crisis on the maritime domain with the navy targeting to acquire 'a non-nuclear, balance-of-terror capability, to improve interoperability with the Coast Guard based on 'a national fleet,' and to actively pursue innovation in naval science and technology. Finally, this paper proposes that naval capability the country needs in another twenty years depends on how effectively and rigorously the navy put its utmost efforts towards building 'a strongest navy' today.

• Maritime Security
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.1-56
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• 2022

Why has India become a key actor in the maritime-configured Indo-Pacific region? There are some external factors, but for India, its geo-strategic frontier encompassing its geopolitical and maritime interests is expanding rapidly beyond its territorial space across both the Indian and Pacific oceans amidst an increasingly arduous geopolitical and security environment. India must, therefore, acquire the ability to influence events within this strategic arena using all facets of national power, including maritime-military power. Lately, therefore, New Delhi has invested much intellectual capital to review its maritime-security strategy. India's new strategy is premised on the concept of holistic security involving the 'softer' aspects of maritime-security, and a rekindling of maritime consciousness in India, a nation that has traditionally been beset by 'sea-blindness'. The strategy adopts a region-wide, inclusive, and a more proactive approach than hitherto, as is evident in its title 'Ensuring Secure Seas: Indian Maritime Security Strategy'. While it deals with the growing concern of new non-traditional threats in the Indian littoral and the need for military deterrence and preparedness, it also addresses the imperatives for India to seek a favorable and rules-based benign environment in its immediate and extended maritime periphery, including through multi-vectored strategic partnerships dictated by its enduring principle of strategic autonomy. For a more profound and comprehensive understanding of India's maritime-security strategy, this paper examines the key unstated and implicit factors that underpin the strategy. These include India's historical and cultural evolution as a nation; its strategic geography; its geopolitical and security perceptions; and the political directions to its security forces. The paper deals specifically with India's response to maritime threats ranging from natural disasters, crime and state-sponsored terrorism to those posed by Pakistan and China, as well as the Indian Navy's envisaged security role East of the Malacca Straits. It also analyzes the aspects of organizational restructuring and force planning of India's maritime-security forces.

• Maritime Security
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.1-35
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• 2023

The purpose of this study is to present the direction of development of our navy's response strategy through analysis at the ends, ways, and means level of the Chinese navy's offensive strategy for the West Sea. As a result of the analysis, at the ends level, the Chinese Navy's offensive strategy for the West Sea strategy is being linked to a grand strategy to protect maritime rights and achieve maritime power between the U.S. and China competition, at the ways level, the Chinese Navy is expected to create a foundation for the international community to recognize the West Sea as China's inland sea through "routine entry" and "exercise authority", and in case of emergency, it will try to secure sea control in the West Sea in a short period of time by blocking Korea's maritime transportation route based on the overwhelming preemptive attack capability of aircraft carriers. At the means level, it is accelerating the construction of aircraft carrier warfare units and improving its ability to engage long-range missiles. As a direction of development of the Korean Navy's response strategy in response to this, first, Establishment and Development of National Maritime Security Strategy in conjunction with the Korean Indo-Pacific Strategy. Second, it proposes the development of the concept of effective security operations for the east sea area of the West Sea intermediate line, and third, the development of the concept of combat performance and capacity building to strengthen survival and lethality.

• Analyses & Alternatives
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.69-114
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• 2022

This paper analyzes Taiwan's 「New Southbound Policy」 from the perspective of 'balancing' and 'bandwagoning' in international politics. Specifically, it examines the changes and characteristics of 'Southbound policies' that have continued since the period of the Lee Teng-hui(李登輝) administration, and examines the meaning of the New Southbound Policy promoted by the Tsai Ing-wen(蔡英文) administration. Taiwan's foreign policy has been strongly influenced by external variables such as U.S.-China relations. Previous Taiwanese governments have actively promoted Southbound policies to advance to Southeast Asian countries such as ASEAN with the aim of 'De-Sinicization', but have not achieved much results. This is because variables such as cooperative U.S.-China relations and strong checks from China played a role at the time. In this environment, Taiwan had to pursue an appropriate 'balancing' between the United States, China, and Southeast Asian countries. However, since the inauguration of the Trump administration, strategic competition between the U.S. and China has been maximized, creating a new space for Taiwan's foreign policy. This is because the U.S. valued cooperation with Taiwan in the process of embodying the 'Indo-Pacific Strategy' to curb China's rise. The New Southbound Policy promoted by the Tsai Ing-won administration is different from the existing Southbound policies in that it seeks to link with the U.S. India-Pacific Strategy and attempts to advance to South Asian countries such as India. From an international political point of view, the Tsai Ing-won administration's New Southbound Policy can be interpreted as a 'bandwagoning' to the United States, not a balanced strategy between the U.S. and China. Strategic competition between the U.S. and China is expected to intensify for a considerable period of time in the future, and honeymoon between Taiwan and the U.S. are also expected to continue. Taiwan's bandwagoning strategy, which actively pursues a link between the New Southbound Policy and the India-Pacific Strategy, is also expected to be maintained.

• Convergence Security Journal
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.83-93
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• 2024

As the paradigm of the global defense industry changes due to the Russia-Ukraine war, Korea's cutting-edge conventional weapons systems are attracting attention from around the world. In 2023, Korea ranked 9th in world arms exports, and is pursuing innovation in the defense industry with the goal of becoming the world's 4th largest defense exporter by 2027. The defense industry is a national strategic industry that requires a long period of time and a large budget, and defense technology is a core technology that has a great impact on the advancement of defense and the national economy. Over the past five years, Korea has suffered economic losses worth approximately 25 trillion won due to the outflow of cutting-edge technology overseas, and there is an urgent need for institutional improvement to prevent the outflow of defense technology. Therefore, this study presented Korea's defense industry development strategy by examining the laws and systems that the three key players in the Indo-Pacific region, the United States, China, and Japan, are promoting to protect defense industry technology. To foster the defense industry as a promising future industry in Korea, it is necessary to respond to the fast-evolving pace of development of advanced science and technology in connection with securing technological sovereignty and protect defense technology, which is a key technology of the country, by improving related laws and systems.

• Maritime Security
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.141-185
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• 2021

The growing U.S.-China rivalry has placed the countries of Southeast Asia in exceedingly precarious positions. The Republic of Korea (ROK) likewise has been tasked with the challenge of "navigating the waters" between deepening geopolitical divides. It is in this context that the "New Southern Policy" (hereafter NSP) has become a key word in Korea's foreign policy circles. Through NSP, ROK aims to diversify its economic and security interests by strengthening ties with its southern partners, focusing on three key areas (termed as the "3 Ps"): People, Prosperity, and Peace. At the same time, the NSP seeks cooperation with other key diplomatic agendas such as the U.S.'s "Free and Open Indo-Pacific," rendering it crucial for the overall stability of the region. Considering such strategic significance, deeper analysis of the policy is more timely than ever. A brief assessment of the policy's outcome so far, however, reveals that relatively, the "Peace" pillar has been insufficient in achieving satisfactory outcomes. Here, this paper asks the question of: 1) How can the "Peace" pillar of South Korea's New Southern Policy be strengthened? Based on an analysis on the causes of the "Peace" pillar's weakness, this paper identifies counter-piracy cooperation as a solution. This paper then proceeds to answer the next question of: 2) How can ROK and ASEAN cooperate on counter-piracy, and how can these efforts be integrated into ROK's NSP? To answer the above question, this paper conducts in-depth case studies on ASEAN's and ROK's approaches to counter-piracy and identifies specific mechanisms of cooperation. In Chapter I, the paper begins with an overview of the NSP's strategic significance and an evaluation of its "Peace" pillar. Chapter II conducts a literature review on the causes of, and prescriptions for, the weakness of the "Peace" pillar. The paper then justifies why counter-piracy may be a solution. Chapter III examines ASEAN's and ROK's approaches to counter-piracy. By analyzing the general framework and each region's cases, the paper displays the strengths and weaknesses of each region's piracy responses. Based on this analysis, Chapter IV suggests ways to incorporate counter-piracy cooperation into the "Peace" pillar of the NSP. This research bears significance in that it identifies a specific area of cooperation (counter-piracy) to strengthen the "Peace" pillar of ROK's NSP. Such identification is based on a comprehensive study into the two parties' past and current experience in counter-piracy, making it contextual in nature. Furthermore, the study suggests practical mechanisms of cooperation, and considers ways of incorporation into the existing framework of NSP. This approach differs from existing literature that failed to generate case-specific, policy-oriented solutions. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated piracy issues and deepened geopolitical divides. Turbulent seas such as these call for careful navigation. When it comes to promoting "peace," the key lies in combating the pirates that sail those very waters.