The Development And Changes Of The U.S.-ROK Alliance During The Moon Jae-in Administration

South Korea is located in the Korean Peninsula of Northeast Asia,adjacent to China,Russian and Japanese,and at the center of the game of political and security interests in Northeast Asia.So South Korea always has an extremely important geostrategic value.In international relations,“alliance” is one of the most common diplomatic means.The United States is the only superpower after the Cold War,and the global asymmetric alliance system it has built is not only a tool for the United States to maintain its hegemony,but also an essential factor in the relevant regional security order.South Korea is one of the allies of the United States.The U.S.-ROK Alliance,to a certain extent,shapes the security and foreign policy direction of South Korea and directly affects the security pattern of the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia region.Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and South Korea in 1992,South Korea has long pursued a dual-axis foreign policy of “relying on China for its economy and the United States for its security”.And the huge economic,trade,and personnel exchanges between China and South Korea have made Sino-ROK relations one of the major bilateral relationships in Northeast Asia.As China’s influence expands and the U.S.strategic judgment of China changes,the dynamic adjustment of Sino-U.S.relations has a significant role to play in the U.S.-ROK alliance.With the inauguration of Progressive President Moon Jae-in in 2017,South Korea’s foreign and security policy has shifted toward North Korea,and has adopted a balanced strategy in Sino-U.S.relations to avoid “choosing sides” between China and the United States.Through summit diplomacy,high-level diplomacy,and shuttle diplomacy,the Moon administration has actively communicated between China and North Korea,aimed at promoting the peace process on the Korean Peninsula,seeking South Korea’s independence and autonomy,building up South Korea’s national image,and improving South Korea’s international influence.Donald Trump came to power in the United States in 2017,which broke the traditional political trend of the United States.The “America First” highlighted Trump’s unique and well-behaved personality.The Sino-U.S.trade conflict triggered new changes in Sino-U.S.relations,and the Indo-Pacific strategy was aimed at China.On the U.S.-South Korea relationship,the Trump administration advocated that South Korea take more responsibility for the alliance and increased South Korea’s defense contribution to the U.S.military in South Korea,and as a condition for South Korea to make concessions on the revision of the U.S.-South Korea Free Trade Agreement.As for the issue of North Korea,Trump had met with North Korean Supreme leader Kim Jong Un three times in pursuit of a difference from others.However,the global public health crisis and the approach of the election had left the Trump administration with no time to distract from North Korea.The situation on the Korean Peninsula got tense again.Subsequently,the Biden administration has continued the competitive relationship with China,improved the Indo-Pacific strategy,reshaped the U.S.alliance system with the value of democratic and liberal identity,and shaped the front to contain China with the cooperative partners.For the United States,no matter from the perspective of geopolitics,ideology or comprehensive strength,South Korea’s global strategic value in the United States is more obvious.Therefore,the Biden administration has promoted the U.S.-ROK relationship and political,military,economic and humanistic cooperation within the U.S.alliance system to reduce the Moon administration’s dependence on China and tighten its control over South Korea.In fact,the Moon administration’s attitude towards the U.S.-ROK alliance has changed from“centrifugal” to “centripetal”,and the U.S.-ROK alliance had finally been strengthened.Thus,this paper focuses on the reasons,characteristics,and impact of the changes in the U.S.-ROK alliance during the Moon period.In Chapter 2,the paper reviews the alliance theory and analyzes the internal and external reasons that affect the alliance from the perspective of the foreign policy.In Chapter 3,by sorting out the universality of structural contradictions in U.S.-Korea relations and the uniqueness of the diplomatic environment between the U.S.and South Korea,it analyzes the specific reasons for the changes in the U.S.-Korea alliance during the Moon period.Huge changes in the international environment and the leaders’ party affiliation had made a greater impact on the U.S.-ROK alliance.Chapter 4 sorts out the differences and cooperation of the U.S.-Korea alliance during the Moon administration.It is obvious to find that the two countries maintained cooperation during the Trump-Moon period despite their differences;while the two sides strengthened cooperation during the Biden-Moon period,but the differences still existed on the Korean Peninsula issue.Overall,the differences between the U.S.and South Korea are more complex,the scope of cooperation is more expanded,and the relationship is more consolidated.Chapter 5 analyzes the impact of the changes in the U.S.-ROK alliance during the Moon Jae-in period,and points out that these changes may become the main direction of South Korea’s policy towards China.This paper argues that China needs to strengthen communication and cooperation with South Korea,take advantage of the structural contradictions between the U.S.and South Korea to seek a breakthrough in the development of Sino-ROK relations,and improve China’s neighboring diplomatic environment.