Introduction
Northeast Asia is the most influential region in the Asian continent and affairs in this part of the continent have an impact on the whole of Asia. China and Japan are the two super powers in the region and their geographical proximity and economic interdependence means that the two countries are deeply connected.
Even so, the history of these giants is turbulent and there continues to be a mutual hostility between them. At the present, there exist a number of significant issues facing Northeast Asia. These issues include: China’s rapid economic growth and her increasing role in international affairs and Japan’s possible remilitarization which is cause for concern for her neighboring countries.
Korea stands between these two powers and her geographical positioning together with her history with both nations gives her particular relevance in the region. Korea has a shared history with both China and Japan and both countries consider her an important player in their international strategies. This paper shall discuss the role of Korea as a link between the continent and Japan. In particular, the paper shall analyze the Korean relationship to both Japan and China so as to highlight Korea’s role as a link.
Korean relations to China
The Korean Peninsula has historically enjoyed close relations with China. This relationships have in part been as a result of China’s security concerns. Historically, some of China’s invaders have made use of the Korean peninsula to perpetrate their attacks against China. The border has also served as the arena for conflicts between China and her traditional rivals; Japan and Russia.
This security concerns are part of the reason why China is concerned about the affairs of Korea since she would not want Korea allying herself with nations that China perceives to be enemies. The renowned scholar Quansheng Zhao best articulates the relationship between China and Korea by stating that “Chinese interest in the Korean peninsula has been based on the combined factors of national interest and the historical connections between China and Korea” (102).
China-Korean relations date as far back to the year 6 AD when Korean emerged as a unified state. In this period, Korean rulers sought to establish relations with China which was an influential actor in the region. From its relationship with China, Korea obtained numerous cultural influences including language, philosophy and even religion. China on the other hand had a market for her products as well as a sphere of influence.
The relationship was mutually beneficial for both nations although it was the Koreans who gained more from the more civilized China. Korea also paid tribute to the Chinese court since China regarded herself as the superior party in this relationship. Even so, Korea saw the relationship as mutually beneficial and regarded themselves as equals.
Selig asserts that Koreans regarded the relationship as suzerainty where the paying of tribute was of little consequence and real independence (309). Korean kings constantly sought and received protection by China from both internal unrest as well as external aggression which was mostly from Japan. As such, the history of China and Korea was based on development as well as security concerns.
This historical relationship continued amicably until the fall of the powerful Ming dynasty. This fall was precipitated by the rise of the Manchus in the early 17th century. This dynasty was regarded by the Koreans as weak and barbaric in comparison to the Ming dynasty.
This weakness led to the creation of factions within China and many historians blame this lack of a centralized command for the defeat of China in the Sino-Japanese war. Following this defeat, the Shimonoseki Peace Treaty was reached upon. The first article of the peace treaty which was signed after the Sino-Japanese called for China to accept Korea as a completely independent country. This loss of Korea to Japan hence severed the historical tie between China and Korea.
China had a chance to assert her influence in Korea following the defeat of Japan in the Second World War. As an aftermath of the war, Japan was required to relinquish control of the Korean colony (Oberdorfer 230). This led to the emergence of a vacuum which China was quick to fill. China therefore became the closest ally and supporter of North Korea. To demonstrate her commitment to this, China sent in her troops to defend North Korea from imminent US invasion in the Korean War (Wang 480). China has continued to be a key actor in Korean affairs up to date.
Korean relations to Japan
The relationship between Korea and Japan was historically one of violence with Japan constantly making attempts to invade Korea. Zachmann reveals that in the 1590s, Japan engaged in disastrous campaigns against Korea that further alienated it from both Korea and China (8). These campaigns also resulted in the upsetting of the balance of power in Northeast Asia thus contributing to the downfall of the powerful Ming dynasty and the rise of the Qing dynasty.
Even so, Japan did attempt to establish good relations with Korea for reasons of domestic authority as well as economic considerations. As of 1607, Japan welcomed the first embassy from Korea and sought to establish international relations that would guarantee Japan’s authority. China was able to deter Japanese aggression in Korea effectively up until the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895.
Japan was keen to expand her influence on Korea and in 1876, Japan pressured Korean into a Treaty of Amity. This was a western-style imperialist treaty by Japan and it purposed to remove Korea from the “hermit nation” stance that it had taken. In 1888, Japan openly supported a planned coup d’état in Korea where pro-Japanese factions purposed to take over the leadership. In this case, Chinese troops intervened and quickly extinguished the coup at the request of the Korean government.
This Chinese action enraged Japan since it once again symbolized China’s dominance in Korean affairs. However, Japan let the matter to pass and proceeded to sign a treaty with China where both sides agreed to withdraw their troops from Korea (Zachmann 17). In addition to this, both parties agreed that in case of future disturbance in Korea, troops from both sides could only the sent upon notification of the other party. Following this incident, Japan pulled out of Korea and did not object to increasing Chinese influence in Korea.
As a matter of fact, Japan and China at times worked closely to keep Russian influence in Korea at bay. Despite the temporal withdrawal, Japan was still keen on establishing her dominance in Korea and in the 1880s, Japanese leadership began an intensive military build-up of Japan’s forces.
Even as the military preparations took place, the hypothetical enemy was not Korea but rather China. The Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 which is regarded by historians as a watershed for both Japanese and Chinese modern history was a major turning point in Korea-Japan relations since it resulted in the abject defeat of China. The war was as a result of the Tonghak riots which took place in June 1894 in Korea.
Following this riots, the Korean government requested for Chinese military assistance to help quell the uprising. China sent in her troops to assist but Japan also responded by sending her own troops allegedly to protect Japanese citizens and diplomats living in Korea. Japanese troops were excessive and this provocative action resulted in the situation escalating.
Eventually, Japan declared war on Chine on August 1894. Japanese forces were immensely successful with the Japanese navy defeating China in the Yellow Sea while the Japanese army gained victory in the battle of Pyongyang. This resulted in the negotiation of a peace treaty which was largely on Japan’s terms
During the course of the war, Japan viewed herself as a liberator who was saving weak Korea from the cunning interference and exploitation by China (Zachmann 34). In fact, the Sino-Japanese War was popularly considered by the Japanese population as a “just war” for the sake of Korea (Zachmann 25). However, following the decisive victory obtained in the Sino-Japanese war, Japan took the opportunity to advance her interest in Korea.
This resulted in Japan expanding her influence to Korea and subsequently colonizing the country for half a century. At the onset, Japan’s policy with Korea was hoped to be one of non-interference insofar as possible with the goal being for Korea to stand up by herself (Tsuzuki 132). This policy was not implemented for long since other powers wished to exert their influence on the weaker Korea. In particular, Russia aimed to extend her influence in Korea and thus challenged the role of Japan as Korea’s protector.
Korea As link between Continents
Korea has historically had a huge bearing on China and Japan and Ilpyong reveals that under the influence of China, Korea was seen as a “dagger pointed at the heart of Japan” (28). Similarly, China viewed a Korea under Japanese rule as a dagger pointed at it. These fears are not unfounded as if evident from Japan’s expansion into Manchuria and its subsequent occupation of China’s northern territory following the colonization of Korea at the onset of the 20th century.
Zachmann proposes the Sino-Japanese rivalry over Korea was as much a matter of prestige and the need to perpetuate dominance as it was a security issue (16). Security wise, Korea plays the role of buffer state between China and Japan. The possibility of a common border with Japan has been a historical fear by China.
Following the annexation of Taiwan by Japan, there was fear that if china remained inactive, Japan would attack Korea and the loss of Korea would result in a common border between China and Japan (Waltz 143). This was seen as unacceptable and China prepared for war with Japan from 1879 onwards in anticipation of Japan take over of Korea. Following the Korean colonization by Japan as a result of Japanese victory in the Sino-Japan war, China felt threatened by this occupation of Korea by a hostile power.
The relationship between Japan and china continue to be strained despite the huge economic progress that both nations have made through the decades. During the cold war era, Japan and China were on opposite side with Japanese favoring the Unite States while China favored communism and the Soviet Union. Even after the end of the cold war, the two countries still continue to regard each other with suspicion.
The United States-Japan Defense Cooperation Guidelines which was come up with in 1995 is one of the grounds on which China and Japanese differ. To China, This pact is regarded as a sign of Japanese militarization and a means through which Japan can expand its influence in the region. China also perceives the US-Japan defense agreement as a move to undermine its influence in the region and isolate it from other countries in the region.
Presently, there is growing rivalry between China and Japan and as China’s power grows, there is the dangerous possibility for the peace and stability of the region. Both China and Japan are keen to maintain stability and peace in the Korean peninsula. For China, the stability of the reason is good both for its economic interests and security interests. Japan also considers a stable Korea as being good for the security of the region.
Korea therefore acts as a key link between these two countries that have a bitter history and view each other with suspicion and mistrust. Korea (South) is uniquely positioned to play an important role to encourage better relations in Northeast Asia (Denny 23). Heo, Roehrig and Seo state that part of the power that Korea has is that it has never attacked any one of its neighbors nor given any indication that it intended to do that (107). Korea is seen as a legitimate mediator between China and Japan without being perceived as a competitor or a threat. This strengthens the effectiveness of Korean mediation.
Discussion and Conclusion
While Korea is the significantly small power when compared to the big and powerful China and Japan, it is not a powerless party and indeed has the ability to shape the future of her powerful neighbors. This is because both China and Japan regard Korea as an important actor in their foreign policies. While China and Japan have an entrenched enmity due to their tragic confrontations of the past, Korea is of interest to both countries and therefore forces them to interact. Korea acts as a link between these two traditional enemies and if there will ever be the formation of an Asian power bloc, the role of Korea will be monumental.
This paper set out to discuss the role of Korea as a link between China and Japan. A brief history highlighting the relationship between Korea and the two countries has been given so as to underscore the importance of Korea in China-Japan relations. This paper has highlighted that there exists an intense and deep-rooted suspicion and competition between China and Japan.
Even so, a level of cooperation between these two powers is necessary for the peace and stability of the Northeast Asian region. The paper has then analyzed how Korea acts as a link between Japan and the continent. From the discussions advanced in this paper, it can be stated that while Korea lacks the economic and military might of China and Japan, she plays a significant role in the affairs of Northeast Asia by serving as a link between these two giants.
Works Cited
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