【英文】新美国安全中心报告：21世纪美韩同盟战略的蓝图（26页）

Pillar Two: Reinvigorate  the trade relationship Washington’s renewed focus  on strategic competition  with China has landed South  Korea in a familiar bind,  wedged between China, its  largest trading partner by an  almost 100 percent margin,  and the United States, the guarantor of South Korean  security and a long-standing ally.9  Broadening the base of  the U.S.-ROK economic relationship would help mitigate  the risks of South Korea’s economic dependence on  China and enhance coordination in multilateral trade  and economic organizations. The implementation of the  United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS  FTA) was just one important step toward expanding  the trade relationship; in the seven years following  initial implementation in 2011, bilateral trade grew  by 30 percent.States has long served as the top international destination for Korean students, though, due to high costs  and fckle visa policies in the United States, there is  roughly the same number of Korean students in China  today as in the United States.13 The movement of South  Korean people to the United States not only helps fund  the American higher education system, but also powers  next-generation industries with a steady stream of highly  qualifed applicants. Ensuring that these cross-border  fows continue to grow is in both the economic and diplomatic interests of the United States. Pillar Three: Coordinate  on values-based  diplomacy For decades, South Korea  has been instrumental in  the sustainment of the  U.S.-led security architecture in the Indo-Pacifc.  

Ultimately, mutual commitment to uphold the rule of law, human rights, fair  trade practices, and democracy undergirds the logic  of the alliance. Forty years after the Gwangju Uprising  precipitated South Korea’s transition from military  dictatorship to fourishing democracy and economic  powerhouse, the country has the capacity and cache  to play a critical role as not only a linchpin of a U.S.-led  security order in the Indo-Pacifc, but also as a champion  of democratic values.14 As the COVID-19 pandemic has crippled economies  across the globe and the twin challenges of  resurgent authoritarianism and democratic  backsliding threaten the United States’ vision  of a free and open Indo-Pacifc, the values-based afnity between the United States,  South Korea, and other Asian allies is more  important than ever.15 The proliferation of  multilateral engagement mechanisms among  likeminded countries in the Indo-Pacifc— including the Quad Plus—is promising.16 By  working together with other like-minded  nations, the United States and South Korea  can provide telecommunications and vital  infrastructure to enable countries with  nascent digital ecosystems to chart a more  liberal and open future on their own terms.