This article was originally published in JoongAng Ilbo and translated by OKN Correspondent.
On the 10th, China claimed the South Korean government’s acceptance of the “three no”s and “one restriction” regarding the THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) deployment in South Korea. China’s claim came one day after South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held ministerial talks in Qingdao, China.
Wang Won-bin, the spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said at a regular briefing on the 10th that “The South Korean government officially stated the “three no”s and “one restriction” policy to the world.
When asked a question about THAAD, Wang said, “The United States deployment of THAAD in South Korea clearly hurts China’s strategic security interests, and we would like to point out that China has expressed concerns to South Korea on several occasions.”
At the previous meeting on the 9th, Minister Park and Minister Wang also expressed their different stances on the effectiveness of the “three no”s of THAAD. Nevertheless, both ministries said that the two ministers agreed to “make sure that the THAAD issue does not become an obstacle to mutual cooperation.” However, the day after the meeting, the THAAD issue immediately emerged as a stumbling block in South Korea-China relations, contrary to this announcement.
This Time, China Insists With “One Restriction” Following “Three No”s
The “three no’s and one restriction” statement that Spokesperson Wang mentioned is an argument related to the talks between Nam Gwang-pyo, South Korea’s then Deputy Director of the National Security Office, and Kung Xuanyu, China’s then Deputy Minister of the Foreign Ministry, on October 31, 2017.
According to what Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha explained at the National Assembly audit in October 2017, the “three no”s include for: 1) South Korea to not deploy additional THAAD; 2) South Korea to not participate in the US missile defense system; 3) South Korea to not establish a military alliance with the United States and Japan.
At that time, the Moon Jae-in government explained this position to China, stating that it was meant to be a position, and not a promise or agreement.
The Yoon administration has also adhered that the three noes for THAAD are just an expression of the position of the former Moon administration, not a promise or agreement between the two countries. Foreign Minister Park Jin emphasized at a press conference on the same day, “Regarding the THAAD issue, I made it clear (at the ROK-China foreign ministers’ meeting) that the response to the North Korean nuclear and missile threat is a means of self-defense and a matter of our security and sovereignty.”
When answering at the interpellation session at the National Assembly on July 25, Minister Park also drew the line, saying, “The ‘three no’s for THAAD were an explanation of the former administration’s position, not a promise or agreement with China. It is difficult to accept the demand of China telling us to keep the promise since South Korea made it with China.”
However, China has insisted that the “three no”s for THAAD are a promise between the two countries and an agreement that South Korea must keep. On July 27, the Spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Zhao Lijian, said regarding the “three no”s, “New officials cannot ignore the debts of the past. To consistently maintain the foreign policy regardless of the political party and domestic or foreign political needs is the duty of respecting the history, yourself, and the communication with your neighbors.”
Spokesperson Zhao’s argument meant that the new South Korean government should still succeed the former Moon administration’s “three ‘no’s for THAAD.”
Concerns About Reigniting THAAD Conflict Over “One Restriction”
In particular, it seems that the conflict will be reignited as Spokesperson Wang announced “one restriction” to indicate the restriction of the THAAD operation already deployed at USFK bases, in addition to the existing “three no”s.
It is the first time the Chinese government officially announced its claim that the “one restriction” is South Korea’s diplomatic promise. Concerns are that the six-year-long ROK-China conflict since the THAAD deployment in South Korea in 2016 could be rekindled in a more complex form.
Unlike the “three no”s, specific details of the negotiations of “one restriction” between South Korea and China are unknown. Won Il-hee, then senior deputy spokesperson of the Transition Committee for the New President, said in April, “It is not even possible to confirm whether the Transition Committee was reported by relevant departments,” referring to suspicions regarding China’s demand for “one restriction” toward the Moon administration.
“Since ‘one restriction’ means not to operate the already deployed THAAD properly, it can be highly misunderstood as a violation of South Korea’s current military sovereignty,” Won pointed out.
As the controversy escalated, South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on the same day, “China’s claim that South Korea formally swore an oath to the “three no”s and “one restriction” seems to refer to the former (Moon) administration’s expression of its diplomatic position.”
It also stated, “Our government consistently maintains the position that THAAD, as a matter of national security and sovereignty, cannot be subjected to negotiation.
Kim Jin-ho, Professor of Political Science at Dankook University, said, “The reason that China’s Foreign Ministry mentioned the “three no”s and “one restriction” the day after the ministerial meeting was that it acted as an open statement to the Yoon administration, who views the THAAD issue as an issue of security and sovereignty, and that China has no intention of conceding the THAAD issue.”
“Although China amicably agreed at the meeting to ensure that the THAAD issues would not become a stumbling block, it seems that China, apart from the meeting, attempted to consolidate domestic public opinion and indirectly reveal President Xi Jinping’s hardlined views.”
Kang Joon-young, Professor at the Graduate School of International Studies at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, said that “China tends to embarrass the South Korean government by unilaterally bringing up issues that cannot be considered an existing bilateral agreement, such as the “three no’s one restriction of THAAD during the Moon Jae-in administration.”
“It is necessary to take measures such as clearly raising the issues directly related to South Korea’s security and sovereignty to China in order to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings within the bilateral relation in the future.”
China Claims to Have Presented “Five Virtues,” Including “No External Interference”
Meanwhile, Spokesperson Wang of China’s Foreign Ministry announced on the 9th that China presented its “five virtues” at the meeting. These include 1) Being independent and not subject to external interference; 2) Maintaining goodwill and friendly relations to consider each other’s major concerns; 3) Maintaining openness and a win-win position to promote stability and development of the production and supply chain; 4) adhering to equality and respect and not interfering in each other’s internal affairs; and 5) maintaining multilateralism to observe the principles of the UN Charter.
These virtues are what China has usually attempted to express in its intention of having South Korea work with China instead of having the ROK-US alliance. However, it may be controversial this time as China announced sensitive expressions such as “independence” and “no external interference” in line with the foreign ministers’ meeting. Additionally, there are evaluations that China notified to continue with its wolf warrior diplomacy over the next five years as China presented the “five virtues” at the first meeting since the Yoon administration took power.
