{"id":2202073,"date":"2023-08-24T17:14:10","date_gmt":"2023-08-24T08:14:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/?p=2202073"},"modified":"2023-08-25T17:01:37","modified_gmt":"2023-08-25T08:01:37","slug":"how-the-camp-david-summit-underscores-south-koreas-stance-on-south-china-sea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/08\/how-the-camp-david-summit-underscores-south-koreas-stance-on-south-china-sea\/","title":{"rendered":"How the Camp David summit underscores South Korea\u2019s stance on South China Sea"},"content":{"rendered":"
In the wake of the Aug. 18 \u201c<\/span>Spirit of Camp David<\/span><\/a>\u201d joint declaration, the U.S., South Korea and Japan unveiled what they christened as a \u201cnew era of trilateral partnership.\u201d This agreement scales trilateral cooperation to new heights, but it also underscores a pronounced pivot in South Korea\u2019s foreign policy doctrine \u2014 primarily marked by Seoul\u2019s departure from its past equivocal position on the South China Sea.<\/span><\/p>\n The joint statement directly addresses the elephant in the room \u2014 China\u2019s \u201cdangerous and aggressive behavior supporting unlawful maritime claims\u201d \u2014 highlighting an Aug. 5 incident when Chinese Coast Guard ships took <\/span>aggressive action<\/span><\/a> against their Philippine counterparts who were on a mission to resupply a Philippine military outpost on the Second Thomas Shoal in the disputed Spratly Islands.<\/span><\/p>\n The larger picture, however, lies in the declaration\u2019s invocation of the 2016 Permanent Court of Arbitration verdict that challenged the legal validity of China\u2019s sweeping \u201cnine-dash line\u201d claims under the U.N Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). This ruling, the joint statement says, \u201csets out the legal basis for the peaceful resolution of maritime conflicts between the parties to that proceeding.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n As the tides of regional dynamics shift, this trilateral statement not only carves out a new chapter for South Korea\u2019s foreign policy but could also recalibrate the balance of power in the region.<\/span><\/p>\n