The Economist UK - 31.08.2019

(Wang) #1
The EconomistAugust 31st 2019 45

1

O


rder a glassof Asahi lager in a pub in
Seoul these days and chances are the
bartender will shake his head disapprov-
ingly before suggesting one of the watery
local alternatives. Shopkeepers have rele-
gated Japanese products to the bottom
shelf or removed them from view altogeth-
er. Owners of sushi restaurants have put up
signs stressing that though their dishes
may look Japanese, the fish was caught in
Korean waters. Many fashionistas will no
longer be seen dead in a branch of Muji or
Uniqlo, though both Japanese brands are
usually very popular.
The boycott is the most noticeable pop-
ular expression of an escalating row be-
tween South Korea and Japan, which has
evolved from a diplomatic spat over Japan’s
conduct in the second world war into a full-
blown feud over trade and national securi-
ty. On August 28th Japanese restrictions on
the export of hundreds of products to
South Korea came into force. Earlier this
week, South Korea conducted scaled-up
military exercises around Dokdo, disputed
islets which South Korea controls but Japan
claims as its own (calling them Takesh-
ima). Days before South Korea had halted
an intelligence-sharing pact with Japan.

The deteriorating relations between
two American allies will make it harder to
manage rising tensions in East Asia. Russia
and China have become increasingly asser-
tive in recent months, testing the patience
of the two regional democracies with deep
incursions into their airspace. Kim Jong
Un, North Korea’s dictator, has continued
to expand his missile programme—and in
all likelihood, his nuclear one—despite
several rounds of denuclearisation talks
with America. Over the past few weeks he
has tested new weapons which analysts say
are designed to foil regional missile-de-
fence systems, making it all the more cru-
cial to keep tabs on their development.
The spat between South Korea and Ja-
pan has little to do with such present-day
threats and everything to do with chronic
historical grievances, notably over Japan’s
annexation of Korea and the suffering in-
flicted on its people during the war. It be-
came acute last year, when South Korea’s
Supreme Court ruled that Japanese compa-
nies that used South Koreans as forced la-
bour during the war should pay compensa-
tion to surviving victims. Japan says such
claims were settled by a treaty in 1965 and
has demanded that the South Korean gov-

ernment rein in the court.
In July Japan elevated the conflict to the
commercial realm by restricting exports of
chemicals that are essential for manufac-
turing memory chips, one of South Korea’s
biggest industries. This month the dispute
spread to matters of security. Japan decided
in early August to remove South Korea
from a list of preferred trading partners on
national-security grounds, citing concerns
that components might end up in North
Korea. South Korea then announced it
would not renew its intelligence-sharing
pact with Japan, which America had bro-
kered in 2016, as trust had broken down.
American officials say they have been
taken aback. The State Department issued a
rare public rebuke of the South Korean gov-
ernment. But many observers believe the
escalation could have been avoided if
America had shown more interest earlier
on. President Donald Trump has called on
the two allies to “get along”, but done pre-
cious little to mediate in the dispute, com-
plaining that he has too much on his plate
already. He has continued to shrug off Mr
Kim’s weapons tests. “The problem is that
the administration has no plan for the re-
gion other than the president staying in the
news,” says Alexis Dudden of the Universi-
ty of Connecticut.
For all the excitable rhetoric, the imme-
diate consequences for security co-opera-
tion are unlikely to be severe. The intelli-
gence-sharing pact does not expire until
late November. Even after that, Japan and
South Korea will still have access to each
other’s intelligence through a trilateral
agreement with America. The trade restric-

The feud between Japan and South Korea

Unique low


SEOUL
America is doing too little to bring its allies back to their senses

Asia


46 Tourism in Thailand
47 Bird life in New Zealand
47 Corruption in India
48 Banyan: Ethnic conflict in Myanmar

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