EDITORIAL from the Korea Herald on March 10)

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New Asia initiative

Wrapping up his week-long tour of Oceania and Indonesia, President Lee Myung-bak
Sunday announced a "New Asia initiative" to boost Korea's diplomatic and economic
influence on the continent.

To become a new leader of Asia, Seoul should first
win the trust and support of the countries in the region through unselfish
cooperation. To this end, South Korea will seek to conclude free trade agreements
with all nations in Asia and increase aid to developing countries, the
presidential office said.
South Korea, which had for some time enjoyed the status of being the second
largest economy in Asia after Japan, has recently been overtaken by China and
India in the world GDP rankings. But it has enough reason to be interested in
playing a leading role in Asia with its advanced industrial technology, a strong
market economy and, above all, a stable democracy - still rare in this part of
the world.
While Asian nations hold certain misgivings toward rapidly expanding China and
historically untrustworthy Japan - and about their mutual rivalry - Korea could
find itself in an advantageous position in its new initiative to become a trusted
partner with every country in the region. However, with regard to "leadership" in
international relations, just as in human relations, it is created as a result of
accumulated contributions to the group and is not something that is to be chased
as an objective.
Compared to other continents, Asia is a region of extreme diversity, in
traditional cultures, religions, races and economic status. Geographically, the
continent can be distinctly divided into Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, Central
Asia, South Asia and the Middle East. In order to improve relations with these
subdivided regions, we should develop specialized knowledge and expertise about
each and produce strategies tailored to meet their different needs.
Over the half century of post-war history, the Republic of Korea first
concentrated its external efforts in maintaining an alliance with the United
States and then somewhat broadened its diplomatic horizon to upgrade ties with
the major powers surrounding the peninsula. President Lee observed that
significant progress has been made in his government's efforts to establish
"strategic partnerships" with these nations, namely the United States, Japan,
China and Russia.
Yet, it should be admitted that emphasis on these so-called four powers -
together with the European Union - has led to neglect of other regions. Japan and
China were ahead of us in recognizing the rapidly growing importance of the Asian
region. At this moment when a "New Asia initiative" is declared, we wonder how
much our administration is ready to devote its capabilities in this direction.
Attention is first drawn to the Foreign Ministry.
If we are to pursue an Asia-first policy, our foreign service should likewise be
reorganized to strengthen diplomatic missions in the region both in quantity and
quality. Our diplomats' traditional preference of assignments to the four powers
should now be discarded. Highly dedicated and qualified officers should be posted
in Jakarta, Islamabad, Colombo and Tashkent.
Beginning today, the Foreign Ministry and various administration offices should
go into exhaustive preparations for international events that involve countries
in Asia. These include the ASEAN Plus Three meetings, Southeast Asian Summit,
Korea-ASEAN Summit, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings and the
president's Southeast Asian tour scheduled for this year. The Asia initiative is
a worthy policy goal, but without supporting administrative endeavors, such as a
significant increase in development aid to regional nations who need it, the
policy will remain a hollow slogan.
(END)