Taipei, Aug. 5 (CNA) Strategic partnerships in the Asia-Pacific region, especially from U.S. allies' points of view, are a delicate issue, academics at an international seminar said Saturday.
The academics, from Australia, Japan and Taiwan, were attending the seminar, titled "The Asia-Pacific Security Environment After the Enactment of Anti-Secession Law, " organized by the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy and the Cross-Strait Study Association.
A ministerial-level conference of U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso and Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer in March strengthened the strategic partnership between three countries, said Bill Chang, a PhD student at the University of New South Wales.
The partnership is obvious and regarded as a balance of China's growing impact in the region, as former U.S. Secretary of Defense William Perry once described Australia and Japan as two "anchors" of the U.S. Asia-Pacific strategy.
However, South Korea, which once was seen as a U.S. ally, seems to be drifting out of the equation, said Tomohide Murai, a professor at Japan's National Defense Academy.
"It seems to me that South Korea is no longer a reliable partner for the U.S., as 40 percent of the respondents to a South Korean public opinion poll said the U.S. is the biggest threat to South Korea. Also, 60 percent of the respondents supported North Korea's nuclear program, " Murai added.
The anti-U.S. atmosphere was not only felt in South Korea but in Japan as well, especially Okinawa Prefecture, he added.
Taiwan on the other hand has never been officially seen as a strategic partner of the U.S. because of the cross-strait situation, he said.
The partnership will be even more complicated if trade relations with China are factored into the equation, said You Ji, a professor at the University of New South Wales.