Recently there has been developed intense competition between great powers, which are willing to integrate Europe and Asia into a single economic bloc. The world powers are entering into the era of division and congregation depending on their interests with intense efforts made to dominate geopolitical superiority. This looks like the Eurasian plate is fluctuating.
The intense struggle for the hegemony in Eurasia between great powers is mainly being carried by international transport corridors passing through the continents. International transport corridor is not just network of routes to transport cargo and passengers, but a transversal line of international political economy, in which great powers are making efforts to dominate and extend their influence.
Eurasia has been the arena of competition on international transport corridors between great powers for a long time. Due to the fact that Eurasian Silk Road is the connection between transportation route, independent actions and approaches of each countries are taking places. Therefore, we need to focus on the fact that the Eurasian Silk Road is a complicated ‘space of game’, in which competitions and cooperation between countries are being made. Particularly, the giant stampede on Eurasia silk road between US, China, and Russia is giving Korea great significance, since Korea is the peninsula, located in the intersection of the Pacific and the Eurasian Continent and is sensitive to hegemonic changes of the ocean and the continent.
The purpose of this study is to create new opportunities for the new cooperation space, and simultaneously to seek the ways of peaceful reunifications of two Koreas through it, based on the analysis of the geopolitical and geo-economical changes building Eurasia Silk Road. Focusing on the intricate ‘New Great Game’ between the global super powers in Eurasia, especially triggered by ‘One belt-One Road’ plan of China, which is transforming from trans-regional great power into global super power, we are going to seek the way of building Eurasian Silk Road together.
Recently complex strategical project on Eurasia among China, Russia, and US has been activated already. However, Korea’s ‘Eurasia initiative’ is still remaining in the stage of planning. Even though the road map of ‘Eurasia Initiative’ was set up in the end of 2014, it has not detailed realization plan, so any progress is not being made except the ‘Rajiin-Khasan Project’.
For these reasons, discussions on key elements of China, Russia, and US’s strategies of building silk road, their geostrategic meanings, and mutual contract and possible collaboration of ‘Eurasia Initiative’ based on them have great significance. So, in other words, it depends on this, whether we can maintain new engine of economic growth, and dynamic momentum of peaceful reunification of Korea by the active efforts to connect Europe and Asia into ‘one continent’, or we could not overcome the limitation of a divided country and we will excluded from Eurasian cooperation community.
Thus, in order not to sink on the geopolitical confrontation relying on one ocean or continent power, it is important to seek new ways of ‘Eurasia Initiative’ as a middle power country. This is, in the world of ‘New Great Game’ between super powers, Korea needs to seek its own empowerment with the stake holders, such as Central Asia countries, ASEAN countries, India, and Mongolia. It is important to secure the right to speak, escaping geopolitical competitive construction, by taking complex neutral actions among China, Russia, and US. In addition, in the situation of antipode of US-centric international political economic order, ‘projection of power’ needs to be avulsed, since it can be seen as an attempt of china-centric power balance. In other words, community of profit and common destiny needs to induce new Eurasia economic cooperates and development model to overcome gap between countries and to coexist together, not to expend market dominated by inertia of the empire. Also, US’ ‘Pivot to Asia’ should sublate ways, which are aggravating complications, such as reinforcement of partnership by supremacy inhibiting China’s meteoric rise, but should be readjusted to be the partner of developing Asia’s dynamic growth potential. Dice towards the continent of Eurasia already has been thrown. Remnants are the strategic approach of ‘Eurasia Initiative’s evolution, escaping from the traditional geopolitical landscape of hegemony and the conflict.
The problem of how to derive construction of cooperation is important so far, with the situation of absence of economic cooperate mechanism and unoptimistic security situation in Northeast Asia. To solve this problem, it is preferable to do ‘geo-economical approach’ rather than ‘geopolitical approach’ to set the priority on economic co-operation. And first in importance is to establish a ‘Northeast Asia Economic Corridor’ by enhancing planning convergence of each Northeast Asian countries. This can be called optimum partnership program combining China’s 6 economic corridors construction promotion in accordance with their ‘One Belt-One Road’ strategy, Russia’s EEU, Far East development in accordance with the ‘New East Policy’, recently raised TEBR, Mongolia’s ‘Transit Mongolia’ and ‘Steppe Road Initiative’, and Korea’s ‘Eurasia Initiative’.
Northeast Asia Economic Corridor is not a new concept but is rather a concept and initiative, consolidating bilateral, multilateral cross-border co-operation, which has been developed focusing on building international transport corridors in the border areas between North Korea and china, and among North Korea, China, and Russia. Northeast Asia Economic Corridor is an effective preventive measures to avoid existing geopolitical confrontation and conflict between ocean and continent powers. It’s core content is realizing ‘2+4 cooperative structure’, cooperating in transport logistics, trade industry, agriculture and forestry marine products, and energy resources, focusing on building the China-Korea, China-Russia-Korea economic corridor in the eastern end of Eurasia Silk Road. It is building China-Korea economic corridor, based on the enhancement of adjusting China’s ‘Liaoning Costal Economic Belt Plan’, ‘Dandong Development Plan’, and North Korea’s ‘Huanggumpyung and Wehuado Development Plan’, along with South Korea’s ‘Pan-Yellow Sea Area Plan’ together. And also, it is building China-Russia-Korea economic corridor, based on the enhancement of adjusting China’s ‘Chang-ji-tu Plan’, Russia’s ‘Far East Development Strategy’, North Korea’s ‘Lason Development Plan’, and South Korea’s ‘Pan-East Sea Area Plan’.
This, of course, is a biased composition, concentrated on the continent, and it discloses the certain limits, since it excludes main stakeholders of Northeast Asia, such as US, Japan, etc. Especially, if Northeast Asia countries keep uniting with the alliance, focused on bilateral relations, It would not be easy to get initiative building China-Korea Economic Corridor, and also the Northeast Asia Economic Corridor. And considering South Korea-US-Japan’s triangular relation’s trend of US-centric networking alliances in confrontation with North Korea-China-russia’s triangular relation, South Korea, the nation confined to alliance structure, is in a hard position to get the initiative on building economic corridor. In particular, Japan is the kind of ‘cold spot’ in Northeast Asia economic cooperation, and in this regard, securing Japan in the structure of Northeast Asia Economic Corridor would be the key factor in determining success and failure of the building economic corridor. It is possible to carry Japan in the structure of multilateral cooperate structure, since Japan can have an adverse impact on strategic composition if Japan is excluded from the discussion of building Northeast Asia Economic Corridor. Furthermore, Japans’ participation can lead US’ participation, which is an offshore country but very influential in Northeast Asia. Through this, we can anticipate that promoting Northeast Asia Economic Corridor could have leverage effect leading peace and prosperity in Northeast Asia beyond the geopolitical confrontation.
In conclusion, building Northeast Asia Economic Corridor is the powerful plan to achieve South Korea’s ‘Trust-building Process on the Korean Peninsular’ and ‘Northeast Asia Peace and Cooperation Initiative’, and also it will provide momentum for the construction of inter-Korean economic community, along with the cooperation in transport logistics, communication, and electricity, based on the establishment of transport corridors between North and South Korea. The crucial factor of building Northeast Asia Economic Corridor would be North Korea’s decision to participate. So, we have to develop multilateral cooperation projects toward North Korea, related to building Northeast Asia Economic Corridor with the annulment of 5.24 ban measures for inducing North Korea’s participation.