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South Korea, under pressure from China, is moving closer to the Quad
- Country will boost engagement with the grouping and take ‘gradual approach’ to formally joining, a senior official has told Yonhap
- Seoul sees interests as ‘more aligned’ with those of Quad states and ‘may believe there is little it can do to placate Beijing’, observer says
Yonhap on Wednesday reported that Seoul would “proactively accelerate” engagement with the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or Quad, particularly by taking part in working groups on issues such as climate change.
It cited a senior official as saying that Seoul would adopt a “gradual approach” to formally join the grouping, made up of the United States, India, Australia and Japan.
“Although we have not yet joined the Quad, the [South Korean] government has been emphasising its importance in terms of its Indo-Pacific strategy,” the official was quoted as saying.
There has been growing discussion over whether the Asian country would formally join the Quad grouping ever since South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol indicated that he planned to align the country’s foreign and defence policies more closely with Washington.
China – which views the US-led bloc as a means to counter its expanding influence in the region – has previously aired concerns over the potential development. Former foreign minister Wang Yi has called the Quad a Nato in the Indo-Pacific and warned that it would severely undermine regional security.
Asked about South Korea’s plan to ratchet up engagement with the Quad, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning on Wednesday said countries should stay away from “exclusionary blocs”.
“China has made clear its position on the Quad on many occasions,” she said during a press briefing. “We hope certain countries can do more things that contribute to security and mutual trust between regional countries and that help to maintain regional peace and stability.”
Corey Bell, a researcher at the University of Technology Sydney’s Australia-China Relations Institute, said Beijing’s response appeared to be relatively muted and “not particularly menacing” – though that could change if Seoul officially joined the grouping.
“The significance could come down the line if tentative participation leads to full Quad membership, and if the Quad makes concrete, material contributions towards any kind of advanced tech embargo against China or really does morph into a military alliance,” he said.
Bell noted that there had already been some concern within South Korea on how Beijing might respond to the development.
Chong Ja Ian, a political science professor at the National University of Singapore, suggested South Korea had realised that its interests as a democratic polity were “more aligned” with those of the Quad states.
“Seoul may also be in a position that sees whatever it does as increasingly subject to [Chinese] pressure,” he said. “Working with the Quad can help it mitigate the risks that come with an increasingly assertive and authoritarian China.”
Chong pointed out that Beijing had long been piling pressure on Seoul, such as in 2017, when South Korea installed a US missile defence system to protect itself from North Korea’s missile threats.
Beijing thought the move was directed at the mainland, and punished South Korea by restricting tourism and trade.
“Seoul may believe that there is little it can do to placate Beijing, so it is taking the necessary precautions to protect its own interests,” Chong said of the latest development, adding that it entailed more engagement with the Quad but also boosting ties with Japan and diversifying its economic exposure to China.
Chong said Beijing would likely be wary and view Seoul’s actions with suspicion given its view that the US and its allies were seeking to contain it.
But Zha Daojiong, a professor at Peking University’s School of International Studies, said China should observe, but not be alarmed by, any expansion of the Quad grouping.
He suggested South Korea’s plan for more interaction with the bloc could be a way “to improve its ties with Japan in terms of security”.
“Ultimately, participants in that grouping first and foremost will have to justify to their own societies what their memberships deliver for [their] immediate, short- and long-term goals,” he said.
Bell from UTS said that by engaging more with the Quad South Korea likely wanted to ensure that the US was “comfortable” to pass over its cutting-edge military technologies as tensions in the region run high.
He said it could also help Seoul convince Washington to increase its commitments to strengthening its nuclear defence.
Seoul also has economic motivations for the move. Bell noted that while the Quad’s origins are in maritime security, it has branched out into supply chain resilience, infrastructure and cooperation on technology.
Getting involved in the bloc’s working groups would mean South Korea is part of discussions involving the shaping of formal agreements – which could bring trade benefits.
For example, in the case of Washington’s upcoming legislation on advanced technology like the CHIPS and Science Act, South Korea “would want to show that it was a strong ally of the US” so it could have a piece of any market reorientation stemming from US strategies, especially given the importance of its semiconductor industry, Bell said.
“At the least it would like to have a seat at one of the tables where these things are being discussed, and Quad working groups have those tables.”
South Korea also has an eye on the power balance in the region, as China exerts its influence in its backyard. “China’s dominance over its primary maritime trade route which traverses the South China Sea would alter the power dynamics between the two nations, and this is not something Seoul would want,” Bell said.
