| bibo:abstract |
No. 2004-04 / November 2004
“Northeast Asian Cooperation Initiative” and Korea’s Diplomatic Tasks: A Strategy for Regional Cooperation
Bae, Geung Chan
Professor, IFANS
ABSTRACT
Despite the dawning of the post-Cold War era, increasing economic interdependence, and cultural homogeneity in the region, Northeast Asia continues to be beset by tensions rooted in the North Korean nuclear issue, the rise of China and the US-Sino struggle for regional hegemony, Japan s remilitarization, and the clash of nationalism manifested in the form of territorial and historical disputes. Coming against this backdrop, the Korean government s Northeast Asian Cooperation Initiative (NACI) can be understood as an expression of a national resolve to build peaceful and prosperous Northeast Asia in the 21st century through the discourse and practice of cooperation. The initiative is also a concept that is closely intertwined with the strategy of East Asian regional cooperation Korea seeks to advance.
Korea s approach to the Northeast Asian Cooperation Initiative should focus on the formulation of variegated arrangements which would hand Korea a pivotal role in preserving the regional balance of power—a task that can be fulfilled only when it serves as a link or a bridge between China and Japan on the basis of maintaining and consolidating the ROK- US alliance and strengthens its strategic partnership with Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) member states. To this end, Seoul should make sustained efforts to hold regular Northeast Asia summit talks, launch an ROK-China-Japan joint committee of history, host an ASEAN Plus Three secretariat, promote a systematic, multifaceted free trade agreement (FTA) strategy that targets a wider range of countries, draw out US participation in Northeast Asian cooperation, bolster bilateral relations with the ASEAN, and forge a Northeast Asian multilateral security mechanism
I. The Background: Rise of “Northeast Asian Cooperation Initiative”
II. External Circumstances and Conditions
III. Mid- to Long-term Strategic Considerations
IV. Diplomatic Tasks
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