President Yoon Suk-yeol speaks during a Korea-ASEAN summit at Sokha Hotel in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Friday. Yoon unveiled Korea's Indo-Pacific strategy, highlighting Korea's pursuit of a free, peaceful and prosperous region based on a rules-based order. Yonhap
Yoon unveils South Korea's Indo-Pacific Strategy
By Kwon Mee-yoo
President Yoon Suk-yeol on Sunday reiterated that "changing the status quo by force" is not acceptable, a stance he emphasized in an earlier speech, in his summit with ASEAN leaders while unveiling South Korea's Indo-Pacific Strategy.
By singling out countries like Russia and Myanmar, the South Korean president said during his speech at the East Asia Summit in Cambodia's capital that Russia's invasion of Ukraine violates international law and voiced worries about what he called the retreat of democracy in Myanmar after a military coup last year.
He didn't spare criticism for China, either, albeit indirectly. He said the South China Sea should be a sea of peace and prosperity and stressed that freedom of navigation should be guaranteed, adding any actions that could escalate tensions there should be refrained.
He made the remarks which are in line with the U.S. government's longstanding position on the sea, amid a territorial dispute between China and Southeast Asian countries.
Yoon unveiled his Indo-Pacific strategy last Friday, highlighting the country's pursuit of freedom, peace and prosperity in the region based on a rules-based order under the three principles of inclusivity, trust and reciprocity.
With Yoon's diplomatic initiative to join the U.S.-led effort to contain China, some experts say South Korea will bid farewell to its longstanding diplomatic position on the U.S.-China rivalry, which has been described as strategic ambiguity.
During the Korea-ASEAN summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, the president said Korea's new Indo-Pacific strategy promotes peaceful resolution through dialogue, as peace and stability in the region are related directly to the country's survival and prosperity.
"We live in an era of the Indo-Pacific region. The region accounts for 65 percent of the world population and 60 percent of the GDP," he said.
Yoon stated that South Korea will try to strengthen the rules-based international order, which is also based on universal values.
"Any unilateral change in the status quo by force should never be tolerated," he added.
His remarks came amid escalating tensions in cross-strait relations following the confirmation of Chinese leader Xi Jinping's third term and Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
South Korea's plan to draw up its Indo-Pacific strategy was made public in May during President Yoon's summit with U.S. President Joe Biden. In a joint statement released after the summit, Biden shared his support for Yoon's initiative to formulate South Korea's own Indo-Pacific strategy framework. "The two presidents commit to cooperate closely through the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, based on the principles of openness, transparency and inclusiveness," it read.
Middle part, from left, India's Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, South Korea's President Yoon Suk-yeol and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov attend the ASEAN - East Asia Summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Sunday. AP-Yonhap
The presidential office said a specific roadmap to the peace and stability of the Indo-Pacific region will be unveiled later, as related Cabinet ministries, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, are currently working on it.
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