US lawmaker-S Korea

▲ This file photo, released by the Associated Press, shows Rep. John Moolenaar (R-MI) questioning witnesses during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 28, 2023. (Yonhap)

By Song Sang-ho

WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 (Yonhap) -- The Republican chair of the congressional committee on U.S.-China competition has called on Secretary of State Marco Rubio to maintain "heightened" vigilance over the warming relationship between Seoul and Beijing, which he said poses "significant risks" to the United States, a report said Wednesday.

Rep. John Moolenaar (R-MI), chairman of the Select Committee on Strategic Competition Between the U.S. and the Chinese Communist Party, sent the letter, citing deepening leader-level relations between Seoul and Beijing, South Korean semiconductor investment in China and "unfair" treatment of U.S. firms in Korea compared with Chinese rivals, according to Reuters.

Moolenaar portrayed South Korea as a "major American ally" but pointed out the "potential for frictions to develop into a structural shift in Seoul's alignment."

He expressed concerns over what he called the "unprecedented" pace of leader-level engagement between Seoul and Beijing, noting that Chinese President Xi Jinping visited South Korea for the first time in 11 years last year, and that South Korean President Lee Jae Myung visited China this year, the first presidential visit since 2019, Reuters said.

The chairman also pointed to the "widening gulf" between South Korea and the U.S., claiming that Seoul had "effectively ruled out" supporting a regional response to any Chinese aggression against Taiwan. He cited Lee's related campaign remark in 2024: "What does it matter to us what happens in the Taiwan Strait?"

He called for a State Department briefing on developments in South Korea-China relations by Oct. 31.

There have been signs of tension between Seoul and Washington, as U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed his frustration about South Korea's perceived lack of support over the Iran war.

In April, Trump said that South Korea was "not helpful" to the U.S. despite Washington having stationed its troops "in harm's way" in the Asian country, which he stressed is located "right next to" North Korea's nuclear force.

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