Characterizing South Korea’s approach toward Taiwan as “conservative,” Vice President Vincent Siew (蕭萬長) yesterday called on the country to strengthen cooperation with Taiwan to advance economic integration in East Asia.
“In terms of bilateral trade, the ties between the two countries are quite close. Unfortunately, however, the [South] Korean government is too conservative in its approach toward bilateral relations,” Siew said in a keynote speech at the 20th Taipei-Seoul Forum in Taipei.
The forum brought together academics from the two countries to discuss the prospects of an East Asia community.
Siew said South Korea was “a model of successful economic development” and said it had “outstanding results” becoming the region’s only country to sign free-trade agreements (FTA) with the US, the EU and ASEAN.
“This development has added considerable momentum to East Asian economic integration,” Siew said, adding that he hoped South Korea could enhance relations with Taiwan.
“There ought to be plenty of room for bilateral cooperation” because the two countries “share historical ties, play a similar role in the international security and have similar levels of economic development,” he said.
“In my opinion, [South] Korea and Taiwan should realize that they are in the same boat. On the basis of the realization, they should work together to build up a peaceful, free and open environment in East Asia,” he said.
Asked by the Taipei Times to comment on Siew’s remarks concerning Seoul’s policy toward Taiwan, Korean Mission in Taipei Representative Chung Sang-ki said Siew “simply repeated and shared with the participants what I have [said] in my article in a [South] Korean newspaper.”
Not long after being appointed to Taiwan, Chung wrote an opinion piece published in the Chosun Ilbo on Oct. 8, a major South Korean daily, in which he said that South Korean government officials had focused too much on Seoul’s “one China” policy and paid too little attention to Taiwan.
“We have a very substantial relationship, but not many South Koreans know it. I just wanted to tell my people that Taiwan is an important partner for us, so that we can further expedite cooperation in every field. We still have to stick to a ‘one China’ policy, but it’s not contradictory,” Chung said.
Chung said Taiwan was not on South Korea’s FTA agenda at this moment because Seoul was busy persuading lawmakers and members of the public who oppose the US-South Korea FTA to accept the pact and it has identified other priority countries.
Ahn Byung-joon, visiting professor of International Relations at the KDI School of Public Policy and a member of the Korean National Academy of Sciences, told the forum that South Korea and Taiwan “do need to deepen the areas of their common interest in the form of an FTA and cultural exchanges.”
In the interests of both South Korea and Taiwan, an East Asia community has to include the US, because the two countries depend on US power and will to deter war and threats, Ahn said.
“They also share common economic interests and political values, even though Taiwan shares more of China’s identity and culture,” Ahn said.
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