whales and squid

There is an old Korean saying that goes something like this (I am paraphrasing at 2:30 am, so cut me some slack): Korea is like squid between whales. No matter they are doing-- playing, fighting, or mating-- the squid get the worst of it.

This is going to be fascinating to watch this unfold in real time:

INSIDE JoongAng Daily: "South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan says it¡¯s tough balancing diplomacy with its powerful partners: China, Japan and the United States.

Yu¡¯s comments come as South Korea¡¯s new administration is increasingly squeezed by public fury at home and frequent diplomatic disputes abroad."

Japan isn't trying to be helpful, save helping itself to more Korean territory:

"Korea, a country born of division with few natural resources and heavy reliance on exports and energy imports, has ¡°far more diplomatic demands than other countries,¡± Yu said. ¡°Its international diplomacy is more delicate than elsewhere.¡±

¡°I cannot stop thinking that we are in a very ill-fated situation,¡± he said.

President Lee risked public criticism earlier this year when he said he would avoid bringing up decades-long disputes with Japan, which occupied Korea from 1910 to 1945. South Korea¡¯s new ambassador to Japan, Kwon Chul-hyeon, also stirred controversy here after he said Lee advised him ¡°not to be trapped in the past and obsess with small [historical] issues.¡±

But Lee¡¯s efforts did not stop Japan from renewing its claims to Dokdo in the East Sea (Sea of Japan).

Japan¡¯s Foreign Ministry opened a new section on its official Web site entitled ¡°Japan¡¯s inalterable position on the sovereignty of Takeshima,¡± saying it is ¡°clear that Takeshima is an inherent part of the territory of Japan¡± based on historical facts and international law.

Also, Tokyo indicated it may include the disputed islets as part of Japan in new social studies textbooks for middle school students, according to Japanese media."

this is an interesting exchange, definitely not reported in the US papers that I saw, though the implications for the future are something to consider, especially as China starts to become (much) more assertive:

"Diplomatic strains with China are an even larger problem, with Beijing looking askance at the Lee administration¡¯s efforts to forge a closer alliance with the U.S. On the first day of Lee¡¯s state visit to China last week, China¡¯s Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said that the South Korea-U.S. military alliance is a ¡°historical leftover.¡±

¡°As we all know, times have changed, so have situations in all countries of this region. The Cold War mentality of a ¡®military alliance¡¯ is not valid in viewing, measuring and handling current global or regional security issues,¡± Qin said on May 28.

He later explained that he had no intention of disparaging the alliance, but South Korea¡¯s foreign ministry said Seoul will ask for more caution from Beijing in the future to avoid disputes on this issue. ¡°One senior official may make a phone call to Beijing this week to convey the message to be more careful in making such comments,¡± said one senior ministry official who asked for anonymity."

I for one of course believe China that they meant nothing by that exchange. Just what until Sharon Stone gets wind of this...