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The US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs sent a message on June 3 calling for Seoul to “speak out” with Washington on its intensifying dispute with Beijing over dominium in the South China Sea.

Daniel Russel delivered the remarks while answering questions about South Korea’s role in the dispute during a separate organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and the Korea Foundation at the former’s building in Washington D.C.

“The role for the Republic of Korea is the role of a major stakeholder in the international order. It’s the role of a country of laws. It’s the role of a trading nation. It’s a role of a country that has flourished under the international system,” Russel said.

“The fact that, like the United States, the Republic of Korea is not a claimant, in my view, gives Seoul all the more reason to speak out,” he continued. “[I]t is speaking not in self-interest, but speaking in support of universal principles and the rule of law.”

The decision by a senior US official to openly call on Seoul to participate in the South China Sea dispute is unusual. The comments could be an attempt to turn up the pressure on Beijing amid an intensifying conflict over the building of artificial islands in the South China Sea.

Russel’s remarks are also seen as a call for South Korea to show a stronger and more proactive attitude on the issue ahead of President Park Geun-hye’s US visit from June 1014. The countries have reportedly been working together on the wording of a joint statement to be released after her summit with US President Barack Obama.

To date, South Korea has stuck to pro forma expressions of support for a “peaceful resolution” on the South China Sea issue. A joint statement released after the two countries held a “2+2” foreign and defense ministers’ meeting last October affirmed that the participants had “emphasized the importance of maintaining peace and stability, ensuring maritime security and safety, and freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.”

“The Ministers shared the view on the need for full and effective implementation of Declaration on the Conduct (DOC) and the early adoption of a meaningful Code of Conduct (COC) by ASEAN and China,” the statement continued.

The US has positioned freedom of navigation near the South China Sea - a major maritime transportation route for itself and its allies - as one of its key national interests. One of the chief aims of a revision to its defense cooperation guidelines with Japan during an April visit by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe - which allowed the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) to provide support for the US military throughout the world - is understood to have been a greater role for Japan in South China Sea disputes.

For now, the US shows no signs of demanding the same kind of military support from South Korea. But with the question now appearing likely to come up on the agenda for the upcoming summit, many are now wondering how the discussions will proceed.

“Mr. Russel’s remarks come across as asking South Korea to go farther when it makes statements to the rest of the world,” said one diplomatic on condition of anonymity.

Russel’s speech at CSIS on June 4 also suggested that cooperation on global issues will be an important topic during Park‘s visit. In addition to climate change, cyber security, and development aid, he also cited expanded trilateral security cooperation with Japan and a greater role for multilateral institutions in Asia.

“Our three countries [South Korea, the US, and Japan] can work together not only on regional issues such as maritime security or the DPRK threat, but on a wide range of global priorities,” Russel said.

“[Multilateral] institutions support work to resolve disputes peacefully,” he continued, citing the example of the East Asia Summit (EAS).

By Park Hyun, Washington correspondent

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