Ram Emanuel, the nominee for the U.S. ambassador to Japan, speaks at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s personnel hearing on the 20th. Washington = Associated Press
Amid the hearings of the US ambassador to China and the ambassador to Japan, the ambassador-nominee to Japan ordered “improving Korea-Japan relations” to counter the North Korean threat, and the ambassador-designated ambassador to China pledged “to unite the alliance to contain China”.
Ram Emanuel, an American ambassador to Japan, who came from the mayor of Chicago, said, “The feud in the 20th century must not take away opportunities in the 21st century” when asked about ways to improve Korea-Japan relations at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s personnel hearing on the 20th (local time). He said, “It’s not that I’m not serious about the history of Korea and Japan,” he said.
Emanual’s nominee also said, “We do not want both sides to publicly embarrass or embarrass the other. We will aim to advance the closed dialogue,” he said. He also suggested that there are numerous opportunities for cooperation between the two countries, including climate change response, infrastructure, investment, and supply chain. In a situation where the Japanese government is demanding that the Korean courts seek to resolve the issues of forced labor during the Japanese colonial period and compensation for compensation for the victims of the comfort women as a prerequisite for improving relations, direct US intervention is likely to impose a significant burden on the Korean government.
The nominee Emanuel mentioned the issue of North Korea’s successive test launches of ballistic missiles, and repeatedly emphasized that cooperation between South Korea and Japan is essential to counter the security threats surrounding the Korean Peninsula. “I will do everything I can to make the promotion of cooperation between Korea and Japan a top priority,” he said. He also emphasized that “China and Russia and North Korea are trying to find cracks and gaps between the US, Japan, South Korea, and South Korea and Japan.”
Nicholas Burns, the nominee for the U.S. ambassador to China, speaks before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s personnel hearing on the 20th. Washington = AFP Yonhap News
On the other hand, Nicholas Burns, the nominee for the ambassador to China, made a point for China at the personnel hearing. From human rights to China’s military build-up and unfair trade practices, it has poured its onslaught on all fronts. He cited an ‘alliance’ as the reason for the superiority of the United States over China, sarcastically saying, “China has few friends.”
The nominee Burns built the premise of pursuing both competition and cooperation with China, but “China insists that the East rises and the West declines, but I am confident in America. China is not a country with godlike powers. “It has significant economic and political weaknesses and challenges,” he said. He also raised his voice, saying, “The United States cannot be silent,” referring to the genocide in the Xinjiang Uyghur region and the oppression of Tibet.
Furthermore, the issue of Taiwan, which China is most sensitive to, was also brought up. He said, “It is right for the US to adopt a ‘one-China policy’, but it is also right to oppose unilateral actions that undermine the status quo.” He also criticized China’s frequent intrusion into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone as “absurd” and pointed out that “China’s intentions to reclaim Taiwan are clear.” He also argued that the United States should help Taiwan develop sufficient self-defense capabilities.
“The comparative advantage of the United States is that it has an alliance,” Burns said. “We have partners who trust us deeply. China has tremendous power, but has few friends.” He also mentioned South Korea, Japan, Australia, the Philippines and Thailand as major allies in the Indo-Pacific region. We also did not leave out the Quad, which was restored by the Donald Trump administration and led to the Joe Biden administration, and the recently launched AUKUS, a trilateral security consultative body for the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Unlike the Cold War, Burns said that competition with China was in the economic and technological fields, and he appealed for bipartisan support for Congress to pass the relevant budget and an aggressive China policy.
Kim Pyo-hyang reporter suzak@hankookilbo.com
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