Republic of Korea, Indo-Pacific and the Emerging Regional Order: Engaging without Endorsing

Despite being a key stakeholder in the emerging regional order, South Korea's approach to the Indo-Pacific has been a policy of 'strategic ambiguity'. It entails a cautious engagement with Indo-Pacific initiatives of different countries under the ambit of 'New Southern Policy' without endorsing the concept or articulating the Korean position on the Indo-Pacific regional construct. Explaining the Korea's strategic outlook, this article argues that its ambiguous approach to the Indo-Pacific' is determined by the prioritization of maintaining a 'balanced diplomacy' in its relations with the US and China in a context of intensified strategic competition between the two.