Opposed Systems Design

But while Beijing is concerned that it may be losing some of its bargaining power in the region since it was not included in the initial ChonAn investigation, there is a deeper concern that the South Koreans — after nearly a decade of pursuing a more “independent” foreign and defense policy designed to wean Seoul away from its dependence on U.S. forces — have reversed course after the March 26 ship sinking incident. Washington will be joining Seoul in anti-submarine exercises (and a show of naval force) next month in the Yellow Sea, an area China considers critical to its security. Seoul has also announced plans to set up a surveillance network to detect submarine activity, something Beijing worries will extend to monitoring Chinese activity and be shared with Washington.

Beijing’s strategic buffer causing a crisis that drives the South Koreans closer to the U.S.? Beijing can’t like that. One has to wonder when Beijing will decide that the root of the problem here is its truculent neighbor.