Japan and Korea: Opportunities for Cooperation

Japan and Korea: Opportunities for Cooperation

Mar 19, 2014 03:00 am | Ashley A.C. Hess, John K. Warden

Ashley A.C. Hess

John K. Warden

Editor’s Note: TNI has teamed up with Japan-ROK Working Group at the Pacific Forum CSIS in order to preview its upcoming report focused on improving bilateral relations through targeted engagement on a range of areas. The “Japan-ROK Series” will feature five timely articles summarizing these recommendations in fields such as cooperation on North Korea, missile defense, counterpiracy, energy security and inter-parliamentary ties. This is the first article in the series.
Given the complex strategic environment that South Korea and Japan face, with a belligerent, unstable North Korea and a stronger, more assertive China, foreign-policy elites in Seoul and Tokyo should be eager to move past divisive historical issues and build a more cooperative security relationship. However, the latest attempts at institutionalizing security cooperation—the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) and the Military Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA)—were put on hold in June 2012. Both sides were ready to sign the agreement, but former Korean President Lee Myung-bak encountered significant domestic opposition. Any future attempt to move toward a cooperative security relationship will likely be a political minefield, but leaders on both sides could improve their chances by narrowing the initial scope of cooperation and improving the message they sell to the public.
read morehttp://nationalinterest.org/commentary/japan-korea-opportunities-cooperation-10076