It's not that China wants to fight SK at sea or not. I just think that the US will command SK to use it's navy to block PLAN ships from exiting the Bohai Sea to link up with the other PLAN forces in the ECS and SCS. The ROKN have subs, Aegis destroyers, and a minelayer for such a task. On top of that, the US might also command the ROKN to bombard the Chinese coast. The ROKN with land attack missiles could strike major Chinese cities like Qingdao, Liaoning, or Tianjin. Is it an extremely dangerous operation for the ROKN? Yes. But the US sees them as an expendable chess piece to use against China. Should we expect SK to grow a spine an disobey it's US master? I don't think we can trust SK to do that.
I expect the US plans to use the Japanese and South Korean navies as cannon fodder to bleed the Chinese first. The US Navy should be planning to fight from behind until the South Koreans and the Japanese have exhausted their forces. That's how the US historically fights mighty opponents. From behind willing allies.
From listening to US defense talks. I suspect that the US plans to use the Japanese navy as its expendable ASW and air defence fleet. While the South Korean navy is the expendable, all-round attack fleet. An in-depth look at their respective navies does indicate such a direction.
Better for China to budget resources and have a warplan to deal with SK as an enemy. At land, air, and sea. SK is already rapidly becoming a hostile state, so it should be treated as one.
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