South Korea’s Moon tries to leave US-China orbit, but lands back on Beijing’s belt and road

The South Korean president heads to Central Asia in bid to further energy deals and break free from a reliance on Washington and Beijing

But he will find it hard to escape the influence of China’s Belt and Road Initiative – and he’ll also need to navigate a roadblock: North Korea

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Astana, Kazakhstan. South Korean President Moon Jae-in is to meet the leaders of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan over the next week. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 8:00pm, 16 Apr 2019Updated: 10:21am, 17 Apr 2019

South Korean President Moon Jae-in began a week-long tour of Central Asia on Tuesday, in an effort to shore up support for ambitious energy deals and move the country beyond its diplomatic and economic reliance on the US and China.

But while Moon seeks to buffer Seoul against turmoil between Washington and Beijing, his plans in Central Asia might inevitably link him to China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

Meeting with the leaders of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan from April 16 to April 23, Moon will hope to further his New Northern Policy, an economic scheme with the ultimate goal of connecting South Korea by pipeline to natural gas deposits in Turkmenistan and Russia, and to the rest of the Eurasian land mass by rail.

“[Moon] wants to improve railroad linkage with Central Asia and Russia. It requires huge investment,” said Yu Hong, a senior researcher at the National University of Singapore’s East Asian Institute. “I think here China and South Korea can find some room for collaboration.”

South Korean President Moon Jae-in with his aides at the presidential Blue House in Seoul, South Korea. Photo: AP