Significant military engagement agreements with South Korea will give a new impetus to strategic relations with countries in the Indo-Pacific region.
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In the first week of September, Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh was on a five-day visit to North Asian countries. After visiting Japan on this tour, he visited South Korea. During the visit, Rajnath Singh called on South Korean Defense Minister Jiang Kyeong-do. The two leaders emphasized on further broadening and strengthening defense cooperation between India and South Korea. The two countries signed two agreements after reviewing their defense ties. One of these agreements relates to mutual naval cooperation. So, the second agreement deals with the exchange of education in the field of defense.
The agreement with South Korea on mutual naval cooperation is of paramount importance, as India has so far entered into such agreements only with the United States and France. Another important point is that India is negotiating a similar agreement with Japan.
In fact, all of this clearly shows the strengthening of the strategic partnership between India and South Korea. Importantly, the agreement on military communications will also strengthen the process of enhancing strategic relations with countries in the Indo-Pacific region. At present, the Indian Navy does not have much presence in the Pacific. But this agreement can create it. Because of this agreement, the Indian military is now in a position to use South Korea's military facilities if needed.
An important development is the blueprint for enhancing the defence industry partnership between India and South Korea. Practically, this is the most crucial thing. This is because India has decided not to use the Chinese system or any equipment in a wide range of areas like defense electrification, and at the same time does not have its own artificial alternatives to fill this gap.
South Korea is a country of high potential in terms of defense electrification. Therefore, it can be said that the situation between the two countries is mutually beneficial. Meeting with CEOs of Indian and South Korean defense industry in Seoul, South Korea India's Defense Minister Rajnath Singh has considered this matter, which has also been underlined by the Indian Ministry of Defense.
During the visit, Rajnath briefed the South Korean defense industry on the business opportunities available in India. He said India's simplified licensing system for foreign entrepreneurs, strategic provisions for foreign direct investment, one-stop shop and special arrangements for defense industry investors, as well as India's industry-friendly policies have given South Korea's defense industry a huge boost in India.
Rajnath also took important steps in this tour to ensure that all these developments get further direction. He has invited South Korea's defense industry to participate in the Defense Expo (DefExpo - DefExpo 2020) to be held in Lucknow in February 2020. In addition, both South Korea and India, in cooperation with Korea's defense industry, set up a joint task force to determine which military systems or equipment could be jointly manufactured in India. So that import duties on such systems and equipment can be avoided.
Equally important is the initiative taken by India to ensure that both countries are ready for mutual cooperation in the field of defense. India has recently added K-9 (K-9) Vajra automatic guns to its military fleet. In fact, it is against this backdrop that all this is happening. The K-9 Vajra is a version of South Korea's K-9 (K-9) Thunder. It should be noted that an agreement was reached in May 2017 between Korea's defense industry, Samsung-Techwin, and India's Larsen & Turbo for the sale of 100 such guns.
The first batch of these guns entered the service of India in November 2018. The second batch will be launched in November 2019, and the last 50 guns will be launched in November 2020. In 2016, South Korea announced the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA). Under the program, they are working on developing a fully automated and energy-efficient new launcher that can fit K-9 guns. In short, the purpose of these guns is to protect their robotic systems, in order to bypass the human operation.
The statement of Defense Minister Rajnath Singh in a statement issued by the Ministry of Defense regarding all these developments should be taken into account. He mentioned, "India is heading towards to become the prominent manufacturing centre for defence gears and equipments in the future. In this way, investors in the sector can take advantage of India and use India's manufactured and manufactured defense products as a trading platform for India to sell to allied countries in Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East, South Asia and Africa. ”
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited South Korea in February this year. In fact, it was only after that that the strategic partnership between India and South Korea gained momentum in a broad sense. South Korea's policy towards the South and India's policy towards the East have been complementary and helpful. These policies of both the countries have a common goal of a stable, secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific region. South Korean Prime Minister Moon Jae-in was on a visit to India in 2018. His visit was highlighted by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to South Korea.
Modi had said at the time that South Korea's new policy towards the South and the coordination of India's action policy towards the East had provided a new platform for further strengthening and consolidating the special strategic partnership between India and South Korea. He also mentioned that in a very short period of time, friendly relations have been established between the two countries. Modi also said that the development policies of both the countries and the future relations between the two countries, the citizens of their respective countries, peace and prosperity are at the center of their agenda.
While relations between India and South Korea are improving, it will be important to see how India handles some of the challenges that lie ahead. Rising tensions between South Korea and Japan are one of the key issues facing India. Because Japan is one of India's most important strategic partners in the region.
Another issue is the growing proximity between South Korea and China (although in some cases there is a dispute between South Korea and China). With both these things in mind, India needs to handle them very skillfully.
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