Event Summary
With the 50th anniversary of the establishment of normalized diplomatic between Japan and South Korea fast approaching, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe has said that he would like to make 2015 “a year to improve Japan–South Korea relations,” but America’s two most important Northeast Asian allies have a ways to go in overcoming territorial disputes and historical resentment. on Friday, AEI hosted a panel to discuss current and future Japan–South Korea relations in the face of multiplying threats such as Chinese military expansion and continued North Korean aggression.
Richard Lawless of New Magellan Ventures Consulting began by blaming Japan–South Korea tensions on skin-deep sensitivities and poor language choices on the part of both administrations, positing that the two countries’ decreased relations with each other has allowed China to create a wedge and build relations with South Korea.
Kurt Campbell of the Asia Group turned to the two countries’ conflicting interests in the Sea of Japan, emphasizing that the US should insert itself into the region to help breed reconciliation.Victor Cha of Georgetown University and the Center for Strategic and International Studies analyzed the situation on the ground in Northeast Asia, which is characterized by growing discontent among the general populations of each nation.
AEI’s Nicholas Eberstadt concluded with a look at the history of Japan–South Korea relations. Comparing the region to postwar Europe, he underscored the importance of East Asian leadership stepping up to promote regional stability.
–William Yoss
Event Description
This year marks the 50th anniversary of normalized diplomatic relations between Japan and South Korea. Unfortunately, the relationship between these two wealthy democracies remains hamstrung by historical resentment and territorial disputes. Although the United States needs to foster cooperation among its Asian partners in the face of growing Chinese aggression, Seoul and Tokyo are incapable of working together on basic issues. What political factors have contributed to current tensions, and what does the future hold for Japan–South Korea relations?
Please join us for a panel discussion on the state of Japan–South Korea affairs and America’s role in fostering cooperation between two of its most important Asian allies.
If you are unable to attend, we welcome you to watch the event live on this page. Full video will be posted within 24 hours.
Agenda
8:45 AM
Registration
9:00 AM
Panelists:
Kurt
Campbell, Asia Group LLC
Victor Cha, Center for
Strategic and International Studies and Georgetown
University
Nicholas Eberstadt, AEI
Richard
Lawless, New Magellan Ventures Consulting
LLC
Moderator:
Michael Auslin, AEI
10:30 AM
Adjournment
Event Contact Information
For more information, please contact Eddie Linczer at eddie.linczer@aei.org , 202.862.7184.
Media Contact Information
For media inquiries, please contact MediaServices@aei.org , 202.862.5829
Speaker Biographies
Michael Auslin is a resident scholar and the director of Japan Studies at AEI, where he studies Asian regional security and political issues. Before joining AEI, he was an associate professor of history at Yale University. A prolific writer, Auslin is a biweekly columnist for The Wall Street Journal Asia, and his longer writings include the book “Pacific Cosmopolitans: A Cultural History of US-Japan Relations” (Harvard University Press, 2011) and the study “Security in the Indo-Pacific Commons: Toward a Regional Strategy” (AEI Press, 2010). He was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, a Marshall Memorial Fellow by the German Marshall Fund, and a Fulbright and a Japan Foundation scholar.
Kurt Campbell is chairman and CEO of Asia Group LLC, chairman of the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), and a director for Standard Chartered Bank. From 2009 to 2013, he was assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs. He received the Secretary of State’s Distinguished Service Award and was recognized by the queen with the Order of Australia and the New Zealand Order of Merit. Campbell was formerly the CEO of CNAS and director of the Aspen Strategy Group. He was also the senior vice president and Kissinger Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, as well as an associate professor at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. He was previously deputy assistant secretary of defense for Asia at the Pentagon, a director on the National Security Council staff, and deputy special counselor to the president for NAFTA. Campbell is writing a book about his experiences in the Obama administration working on Asia, tentatively titled “The Pivot: America’s Rediscovery of the Asia-Pacific Century.”
Victor Cha is the director of the Asian Studies program at Georgetown University and holds the D. S. Song-Korea Foundation Chair in the Department of Government and School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. In 2009, he was named a senior adviser and the inaugural holder of the Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He left the White House in May 2007 after serving since 2004 as director for Asian affairs at the National Security Council (NSC). Cha was also the deputy head of delegation for the United States at the Six Party Talks in Beijing in 2005 and received two outstanding service commendations during his tenure at the NSC. He holds Georgetown’s Dean’s Award for teaching in 2010 and the Distinguished Research Award for 2011. His book, “The Impossible State: North Korea, Past and Future” (HarperCollins Ecco, 2012), was selected by Foreign Affairs as a best book of 2012 on the Asia-Pacific.
Nicholas Eberstadt, a political economist and demographer by training, holds the Henry Wendt Chair in Political Economy at AEI. He is also a senior adviser to the National Bureau of Asian Research, a member of the visiting committee at the Harvard School of Public Health, and a member of the Global Leadership Council at the World Economic Forum. Eberstadt researches and writes extensively on economic development, foreign aid, global health, demographics, and poverty. He is the author of numerous monographs and articles on North and South Korea, East Asia, and the countries of the former Soviet Union. He is the author of “A Nation of Takers: America’s Entitlement Epidemic” (Templeton, 2012) and the AEI monograph “The Great Society at Fifty: The Triumph and The Tragedy.”
Richard Lawless is a founding partner of New Magellan Venture Partners LLC. He has served the US government for more than 20 years, most recently as deputy under secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific security affairs. Before his appointment at the Department of Defense, Lawless cofounded and served as the chairman and CEO of the US Asia Commercial Development Cooperation from 1987 to 2002. He is also a cofounder and former chairman of the Internet technology development company online Environs Inc. Lawless served as a career employee of the Central Intelligence Agency from 1972 through 1987, serving in Washington, DC, and various postings in the East Asia and Europe. He specialized in subjects related to high technology, nuclear proliferation, and Far East security issues.