It’s a bilateral engagement that appears to be going from strength to strength. If the focus till now was on boosting economic ties, it’s now a relationship that’s all set to spread its wings to bolster defence and security ties between India and South Korea.
Accordingly, New Delhi and Seoul decided to cement their bilateral ties further by agreeing to step up cooperation in the defence sector here on Sunday. The decision came following a bilateral meeting between visiting Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the president of South Korea, Lee Myung-bak here at the latter’s official residence, Cheongwadae (Blue House) on Sunday morning.
Indeed, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak told the Indian side that his country “wants to increase cooperation with India in military and defence industry” which would include naval ships, aircrafts and ship-building. India on its part has decided to post a defence attache at the Indian embassy here.
Defence and security issues figured prominently at the delegation-level talks between the two sides here as they “exchanged views on the prevailing complex security situation”.
The joint statement issued after the bilateral meeting also said that the two sides would “undertake activities for deepening bilateral defence relations”. It also said that the possibility of joint ventures in R&D and the manufacture of defence equipment would be explored.
On the economic and trade front, the two side have resolved to increase their bilateral trade to US $40 billion by 2015 and to upgrade the existing Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. This trade pact has helped increase bilateral trade by 70 per cent.
Dr Singh also invited Korean companies to invest in infrastructure development in India.
To help business visitors travel with ease between the two countries, the two sides also signed an agreement easing visa norms.
The decision to step up cooperation in the defence sector is being seen as a strategic move by New Delhi to counter Chinese efforts to increase its footprints in the Asia-Pacific region. Chinese muscle-flexing over its claims over the South China Sea too have not gone down well with countries in the region, including India.
Ironically, even as New Delhi and Seoul were voicing their desire to engage closely in the field of “maritime safety and security both bilaterally and in association with other countries of the region”, Beijing warned India against undertaking oil exploration in the South China Sea.
It isn’t the first time that such a warning has been issued but the timing, perhaps, was not without significance.
With cooperation in the field of science and technology also growing, India offered to South Koreans that it could launch their satellites from Indian space launch vehicles.
India also joined South Korea and the United States in voicing its concern over North Korea’s plans to launch an “application satellite” — a move that is expected to escalate tension in the Korean peninsula.
In their joint statement, the two sides called for maintaining peace and stability in the peninsula including its denuclearisation