US' Lloyd Austin says South Korea alliance important amid concerns over China, North Korea

United States Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said on March 17 America’s alliance with South Korea is essential now more than ever considering the escalating security concerns over China and North Korea, reported the South’s Yonhap news agency. Further, South Korean Defence Minister Suh Wook said that it was important for the allies to maintain a strong deterrence and joint defence posture against North Korea. 

As per reports, Austin on Wednesday also touched upon the “unprecedented challenges” posed by China and North Korea. The US Defence Secretary made the remarks during his meeting with his South Korean counterpart. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Austin arrived in Seoul earlier in the day and the senior members of President Joe Biden administration in their first abroad trip will also be holding a joint “two plus two” meeting with South Korean foreign minister and Wook on March 18. 

South Korea is the second leg of Austin and Blinken’s regional tour aimed at boosting the United States’ Asian alliances against China and North Korea. Earlier, while visiting Tokyo, the US officials jointly with their Japanese counterparts raised the same issue. 

China Is Acting Aggressively And Repressively In Asia: US

Earlier, United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on March 17 that China was acting aggressively and repressively and cited Beijing’s territorial expansions in the East and South China seas where there are already ongoing disputes with Japan as well as other Asian countries. While speaking to a roundtable of Japanese journalists in Tokyo on Wednesday, Blinken reportedly said that China was “raising tensions not diminishing them” in the region by its maritime actions and posturing over Taiwan. Blinken also warned Beijing against using “coercion and aggression”.

With already mounting threats on Taiwan on hindering Hong Kong’s promised-democracy, recently, China has also begun its extensive territorial claims in the East and South China Seas which have also become the top issue in an increasingly disputed Sino-US relationship and essential security concern for Japan. 

In a statement issued with their Japanese counterparts, Blinken and Austin “acknowledged that China’s behaviour, where inconsistent with the existing international order, presents political, economic, military, and technological challenges to the Alliance and to the international community.”