Analysts think the US will struggle to restrain China in the Indo-Pacific now that Israel and Hamas are at war and Russia and Ukraine are fighting.
Gaza City wreckage following an Israeli bombardment. With its atrocities, Hamas violated the laws of war, but this does not excuse Israel from doing the same. (Source: Mohammed Abedi/AFP/Getty Images)
The Indo-Pacific Strategy
At a Thursday morning emergency public conference on Middle Eastern affairs about hostilities in Palestine held in-person and virtually at Korea National Diplomatic Academy (KNDA), In Nam-sik, the institution’s head of strategic region studies, said, “The chronic conflict between Israel and Palestine erupted into a war at a time when weariness is growing in the European front.” He added, “Although the US expressed its support of Israel and even sent a carrier strike group, it is probably caught off guard,” as investing in the Middle East has “blown a hole in Biden’s plan to create a stable foothold outside the [Indo-Pacific] region for his Indo-Pacific strategy intended to rein in China.”
Israeli ground forces entering Gaza for all-out war were debated by experts. In doubt, such a scenario would happen. However, KDNA head of international security and unification studies Choi Woo-seon predicted a large-scale ground operation, saying, “Strong retaliation based on the belief that sitting idly after an attack of such intensity akin to warfare would lead to provocations is highly probable.” Others projected that Israeli attacks against Hamas would result in a heavy toll on civilian lives. Professor of Political Science at Sogang University Lee Geun-wook claimed that in an Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the latter side suffers ten times more casualties than the former. This will happen once more, with a large number of civilian casualties. This will split public opinion, obliterating the evidence that Hamas launched their attack first and strengthening Israel’s position.
In said, “While uncertainty, a risk factor in investments, will arise, the price of oil doesn’t seem to have been impacted significantly yet.” On economic concerns from recent events. It predicted that the recent clash would not change the campaign to host the World Expo 2030 in 50 days, as Western countries disappointed by Saudi Arabia’s support for Palestine may support South Korea.
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