• Date: November 25th, Wednesday, 2020 12:00 – 13:00
• Location: Room 406, SNUAC (Bldg. 101)

Speaker: Prof. Chang Hee Park (Korea National Defense University)

Discussant: Dr. Young-hak Lee (Korea Institute for Defense Analyses)

※ Due to the circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, this event will be open to only 20 people to arrive first. No food or beverage will be provided.

When South Korea should engage in a near-sea maritime dispute with a neighboring country, the key problem resides in the fact that all of her neighbors currently command stronger navies. A net assessment offers a pessimistic scenario as a neighboring country excels in its cyber-electronic capabilities although not much difference is found in C4ISR. Particularly when a dispute or confrontation should occur over the jurisdiction of Ieodo, for instance, the level of response to a missile attack designed to destroy the structure built on the rock is difficult to determine due to concerns with escalation risks. Furthermore, if the neighboring country should employ a sort of “cabbage strategy,” proportional responses might actually become difficult to deploy. Whether or not the issue concerned falls under the alliance’s commitment is also a critical question to explore in the years to come.