동아시아 외교안보 현황과 한일협력

• 영문명: East Asian Community and the Roles of Korea and Japan
• 발행기관: 신아시아연구소(구 신아세아질서연구회)
• 저자명: 이상우(RHEE Sang-Woo)
• 간행물 정보: 『신아세아』新亞細亞 第17卷 第3號, 7~20쪽, 전체 14쪽
• 주제분류: 사회과학 > 정치외교학
• 파일형태: PDF
• 발행일자: 2010.09.30

영문 초록

China has finally emerged as a dominant economic powerhouse of East Asia. Based on continuous high economic growth during the past three decades, China recently surpassed Japan as the world’s second largest economy next to the United States. Along with this remarkable achievement, Chinese foreign policy has also changed. In essence, one can say that China has left behind its so-called three-decades long policy of “hiding one’s capabilities and bidding time”(韜光養晦) and has begun to project its power beyond its shores with a more assertive policy that could be described as “undertaking necessary measures” or (有所作爲). The rise of China could shape a new complex balance of power system in East Asia. Since the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the United States emerged as the dominant world power. By extension, its political and military presence with corresponding influences remained unmatched in East Asia. As for China, even as it continued to grow at unprecedented levels, it continued to retain a one-party authoritarian political system. Beijing also continued to retain ideological solidarity with North Korea’s unique communist dynasty. As a result, one could argue that East Asia is currently operating under two independent “international systems.” On the one hand, there exists in East Asia today a closely knit economic partnership consisting of the United States, Japan, China, and the Republic of Korea and other strategically consequential economies. On the other hand, there also exists in East Asia today competing political-military spheres consisting of liberal democracies such as the United States, Japan, and the ROK and a robust alliance between China and North Korea. While the nature of the competition between these two zones is different from the one that existed during the Cold War given the depth and levels of economic interactions, it is also true that foreign policies have become increasingly complex in the region. Many analysts assert today that expanding democratization in the 21st century are unavoidable and irreversible. Indeed, “freedom with dignity” is no longer the purview of the advanced and democratic states. Rather, liberal democracy is increasingly being perceived as a universally accepted “common currency” that plays a crucial role in determining international cooperation. If the proponents of this mega-trend are right, one can foresee the evolution of a more optimistic and peaceful East Asia based on China’s eventual accommodation of liberal democracy as the basis of its principles of governance and matching politics. Indeed, if China can become fully democratized, it is impossible to imagine that North Korea’s dynastic totalitarian rule can be sustained. In the long-term, the institutionalization and expansion of a liberal democratic order in East Asia could emulate the path-breaking journey of Europe through the European Union during the post-1945 period. The central challenge, therefore, lies in configuring the most optimal method of managing potential conflicts and challenges that could constrain the development of a peaceful East Asian political order. Currently, we are faced with a range of critical threats such as the urgent need to peacefully dismantling North Korea’s nuclear weapons, coping with territorial disputes, coming to terms with deeply rooted historical legacies, and mutually advantageous military transformations including the future status and roles of key foreign military bases. These issues should be handled within the framework of long-term regional perspectives. The Republic of Korea and Japan are the two most prosperous liberal democracies in the region and thus, able to assume leading roles in building an East Asian democratic community. Political leaders in Korea and Japan should bear this mandate in their mind when they cope with the above-mentioned issues.

목차

장기적 낙관론

관련국의 중기 대외정책

현안 문제에 대한 동아시아 각국의 대응

한일협력 강화를 위한 거시적 안목에서의 결단

한일관계 개선을 위한 지식인들의 책임