South Korea’s Foreign Policy Adjustments Toward China After the Thaad Crisis

The crisis related to the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in South Korea in July 2016 and installed by early 2017, is widely considered a structural turning point in South Korea - China relations. Not merely bilateral security disputes, the THAAD crisis is also a concrete manifestation of the strategic dilemma faced by South Korea, as structural pressures from U.S. - China competition compel Seoul to continuously adjust its foreign policy in order to maintain a balance between security and economic interests. The article seeks to analyze and assess South Korea’s foreign policy adjustments toward China after the THAAD crisis, utilizing a neoclassical realist framework and middle power theory. It argues that Seoul’s policy adjustments, including reassurance diplomacy, strategic ambiguity, and diversification of partnerships, have helped stabilize South Korea - China relations in the short term. However, the relationship remains constrained by major power competition and alliance commitments. The THAAD case illustrates the structural limits of middle power diplomacy in an increasingly polarized geopolitical environment.

International Relations

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