On Thursday, February 6th, 2024, in Fussa YCAPS featured Dr. Shin-ae Lee, a Research Fellow in the Security Studies Program at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation who also teaches at the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. Dr. Lee gave a seminar titled, “China-Japan-ROK Partnership Amid the Uncertainty of the Second Trump Era”. This event was part of the YCAPS Community Conversations series. The participants enjoyed snacks and drinks while connecting with each other and the speaker.
Dr. Lee first explained the current status of the China-Japan-ROK partnership during the second Trump administration, including the resumption of the China-Japan-ROK summit after nearly five years, Trump’s character of unpredictability and South Korea’s martial law crisis. She then continued to describe her thoughts on future scenarios with the partnership, mainly from South Korea’s perspective, specifically looking at two possibilities: if the conservative party will continue or if a liberal administration will return. Looking ahead to the future of the China-Japan-ROK partnership, Dr. Lee mentioned five key factors, including managing Trump risks, South Korea’s diplomatic vacuum, deep economic interdependence, Trump’s “self-centered hegemony”, and North Korea's ties with Russia. Dr. Lee doesn’t see a bright future in the China-Japan-ROK partnership.
Toward the end of the event, Dr. Lee discussed several questions posed by audience members, which developed into a great discussion and gave both Dr. Lee and the audience opportunities to think deeply about the topic, providing insightful ideas for the future partnership between China-Japan-South Korea for the second Trump era.
