Study On The Relationship Between The Lee Myung-bak Administration Korea-u.s. Alliance

The ROK-US alliance is a product of the Cold War and a tool of the US topromote its containment policy in Asia Pacific region. Since it was founded nearly60years ago, the alliance has gone through several adjustments in terms of structure andfunction. It has changed a lot, but has always been a key factor, influencing thesituation of Korean peninsula, Northeast Asia and Asia Pacific region. Meanwhile, thedevelopment of the ROK-US alliance will definitely have great influence on theincreasingly rising China since the alliance is formed by a global power and aneighbor of China. The future development and its role in the Asia Pacific regionalstructure are noteworthy.This Thesis will start with a review on the historical development of theROK-US alliance, dividing it into four stages: unilateral control alliance, mutualsupport period, reconsolidate the military alliance, explore the new securitypartnership after the Cold War. It then focuses on elaborating the characteristics andperformance of the mending and extending of the alliance under South Koreanpresident Lee Myung-bak, including the alliance, which was pure military, isdeveloping towards a global strategic one; the status of South Korea as an ally hasbeen further promoted; the alliance is coordinated and complementary with US-Japanalliance. The thesis will analyze the common interests and different thinking of SouthKorea and the US behind the adjustments of the alliance from three aspects: politics,North Korean factor and economy. On this basis, the thesis will make a generalestimation on the future development of the ROK-US alliance, concluding that thealliance will exist and keep developing in the foreseeable future, but South Korea willadjust the proportion of “follow the US” strategy and regional balance strategyaccording to the situation of Inter-Korean relations, China-US relations and etc. In theend, the thesis will analyze the impact of future development of the alliance on Chinain terms of defense and security, politics and diplomacy, and regional economiccooperation.