What we are going to talk about today is a relatively unpopular topic - South Korea's non-negligible position in the war in Ukraine. Don't underestimate this East Asian country, although its influence in the Asia-Pacific region is not as good as that of China, the United States, Russia and Japan, but in the field of manufacturing, South Korea is sitting on a hegemonic position.
You may not know that the war in Ukraine is raging, but there are not many countries that really benefit from this smoke-filled contest, and South Korea is one of them. What's going on?Dig deeper.
First of all, we have to admit that the Russia-Ukraine war is a major event for many countries. In addition to Japan, China, South Korea and North Korea have all benefited significantly. As for Japan, because it followed the West to sanction Russia, the result is that Japanese companies have lost a lot of cake in the Russian market.
But the focus at the moment is actually in South Korea. In the face of Western pressure, China chose neutrality and engaged in normal business and trade with Russia. This strategy not only benefits China itself at the economic level, but also saves Russia from going to extremes under Western sanctions. Smart, there are high-level people, this step is really impressive.
Then, let's look at North Korea, which quickly hitched a ride on close cooperation with Russia. In some cutting-edge fields, North Korea has not only made rapid breakthroughs, but also provided strong support for Russia in basic production capacity.
Okay, with all that said, now let's focus on South Korea. South Korea is a unique small planet in the global village. In East Asia, there are four main countries that everyone knows: China, Japan, South Korea, and North Korea. South Korea is known as one of the "five permanent YouTubers", and it is quite popular, but in the East Asian circle, South Korea's influence is really not a big country. After all, this little guy in South Korea is located between the four major forces of China, the United States, Russia and Japan, and is a "sandwich biscuit" that has been sandwiched and has nothing to love.
In fact, according to South Korea's comprehensive strength, if it is in the Middle East, it is at the hegemonic level;In Africa, it is also at the level of hegemon;In Central and South America, the same is the hegemonic level;Even in Europe, it can be regarded as a big guy. So don't underestimate South Korea just because it doesn't have much influence in East Asia. At least judging from the Russian-Ukrainian war, South Korea is still very tough.
According to the Washington Post, South Korea has "indirectly" provided Ukraine with a large number of 155 mm caliber artillery shells this year, which is more than the total amount of ammunition provided by all European countries. It's really shocking, I didn't expect South Korea's strength to be so strong!
In response to the problem that South Korean law prohibits the supply of ** to the war zone, the United States actually made a workaround, that is, to let South Korea sell ammunition to NATO member countries, and then NATO member states to transfer it to Ukraine. A clever trick to bypass the embarrassment of the law. South Korea also stressed that as long as it is not sold directly to Ukraine, it is not at all a problem to sell indirectly to a third party.
Starting in 2023, South Korea began to supply ** ammunition to Ukraine by any means, exceeding the ** amount originally planned by the EU. The EU wants to deliver 1 million shells within 12 months, but in desperation, 480,000 shells have been delivered or are being prepared, and the goal is goodbye. This can't help but make people exclaim that the insufficient production capacity of the United States and Europe has been filled by South Korea.
Let's look at Europe and the United States. They were overconfident and thought that financial and monetary hegemony could harvest the world, and as a result, the industry was hollowed out. The peaceful days after World War II have passed for too long, and gradually forget the cruelty of this world. South Korea, by contrast, has been under the pressure of a north-south standoff and is deeply in crisis. After the Korean War, South Korea took advantage of the Vietnam War to achieve economic take-off, creating the miracle of the Han River, and Seoul has also developed into an international first-tier city.
Seoul is not far from the 38th parallel, and artillery fire from the north threatens the city all year round. It is by no means easy to develop within the range of artillery fire in the north. This sense of crisis has kept South Korea on high alert, and manufacturing has played a key role in this.
South Korea's excellence in manufacturing is not only reflected in the fields of automobiles, mobile phones, shipbuilding, etc., but also in conventional production. South Korea's ** production capacity is high, which is not difficult to understand. In fact, not only South Korea, but also Japan is a manufacturing country, and it is not inferior in terms of production capacity. This is one of the reasons why the United States has been trying to win over Japan and South Korea.
After Biden came to power, South Korea rose to prominence in the global confrontation. According to the Washington Post on December 4, South Korea has "indirectly" provided Ukraine with a large number of 155 mm caliber artillery shells this year, more than all European countries combined.
In this process, Biden has constantly emphasized the importance of Japan and South Korea to the United States, strengthened the relationship between the United States and Japan and South Korea, and even promoted the docking of NATO and Japan and South Korea. The intention of this is very obvious, that is, to strengthen the importance of Japan and South Korea in the US affairs system.
Everyone must understand that in the future, whether it is the Korean Peninsula issue or the cross-strait issue, the real obstacle will actually be the United States, Japan, and South Korea. When talking about Asia-Pacific issues, many people only focus on China and the United States, but they do not know that it is difficult for the United States to have a substantial impact on the Asia-Pacific region by itself by its own separation of a sea area in the Pacific Ocean. However, with the bases in Japan and South Korea and strong manufacturing capabilities, the influence of the United States in the Asia-Pacific region has increased significantly.
This situation fully proves several facts:
First of all, manufacturing is really important, because it means not only wealth, but also real national strength. The manufacturing industry is a force that no country dares to underestimate.
Second, compared to South Korea, China is the largest manufacturing country, which makes the United States feel jealous. Because the manufacturing industry determines the strength of the country, and China is trying to upgrade its industry and become a real manufacturing powerhouse. This is why the United States has been trying to obstruct China's industrial upgrading.
Finally, South Korea is sandwiched between China and the United States, and is currently leaning more towards the United States. But if China completes its industrial upgrading and the U.S. influence in the Asia-Pacific weakens, South Korea may turn to China in the future and return to its historical state.
In general, this manufacturing game and the rise of great powers are long and tortuous, and it is fortunate to be able to experience and witness it. I hope that you can get inspiration from this and have more in-depth thinking about national development and the international landscape.