South Korea and ASEAN: securing partnership in East Asia

Abstract

Since the end of the Cold War, the relations between Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and South Korea have been mainly affected, if not constrained, by the following factors. Firstly, South Korea's security concerns over North Korea. Despite a number of inter-Korean dialogues and agreements, there have been consistent tensions between the two Koreas. Thus, North Korea has been the most important determining factor concerning the security and political relations of South Korea with other countries. When South Korea faces defiant threats from North Korea or bilateral tensions, the former tends towards limited diplomatic relations with major powers rather than ASEAN. Secondly, economic interests have been priority concerns over South Korea's relations with ASEAN. South Korea's rapid economic growth and a massive flow of investment into the region, particularly since the 1990s, have enhanced economic ties between South Korea and ASEAN. Southeast Asian states became significant economic partners not only as suppliers of primary commodities but also for their complex production links. As South Korea started to liberalize its economy ASEAN became a preferred partner for economic cooperation, as a collective entity, mainly through Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). Lastly, emerging East Asian regionalism has become a significant factor for the relations between the two. Though South Korea has been less engaged with ASEAN and its norms in comparison with China and Japan, the recent rivalry with China and Japan has prompted South Korea to strengthen its ties with ASEAN. There is still enough space for South Korea to develop its strategic role in collaboration with ASEAN instead of joining the rivalry with regional powers. This article consists of two parts. It first elaborates briefly on the development of bilateral relations between South Korea and ASEAN in the post Cold War era and then it consider the emerging East Asian regionalism as a catalyst for securing partnership between the two. It discusses the power and strategic concerns evolving in the ASEAN Plus Three (APT) and the East Asian summit (EAS). Then it turns to the matter of respecting ASEAN norms focusing on the case of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF).