News Snapshot:
Author: Anthony V Rinna, Sino-NK South Korea’s reluctance to explicitly embrace the US vision of a ‘free and open Indo-Pacific’ has contributed to the view that the country is a weak link in the Indo-Pacific alliance network. Seoul and Washington should work to determine how their bilateral alliance — focused on deterring North Korea — fits into the wider regional framework, which is increasingly being shaped by US–China tensions. The lack of mutual understanding between Seoul and Washington over how the ROK–US treaty alliance fits into both countries’ views of the broader strategic environment is a serious obstacle to US...
