Key Points
- Australia and South Korea have strengthened defence ties.
- Defence Minister Richard Marles travelled to South Korea to meet his counterpart.
- Mr Marles also attended the Pacific Islands Forum.
When China and North Korea are your noisy neighbours, it pays to have good friends.
Some commentators say that South Korea is looking to Australia for a closer relationship and stronger defence cooperation.
Defence Minister Richard Marles met his Korean counterpart Lee Jong-sup in Seoul this week, and the two countries agreed to strengthen bilateral ties on defence and other security-related issues.
Mr Lee said South Korea would participate for the first time in the Australian-led multinational exercise Indo-Pacific Endeavour and in Operation render safe, aimed at disposing of submarine explosives from World War Two from the bottom of the Pacific.
It comes the same week as a North Korean nuclear-armed satellite launch failed, sending a rocket plunging into the ocean.
“There are many challenges emerging in the region, and we need all the friends we can share our values with, and Australia is at the top of that list,” Retired South Korean General Chun In-Bum told the ABC.
What happened during the Defence Minister’s Korea visit?
After Mr Marles met with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, he and Mr Lee agreed to “work on an enhanced bilateral framework,” Mr Marles said in a statement.
These meetings happened on the sidelines of Seoul hosting the inaugural South Korea-Pacific Islands Summit.
Dongkeun Lee, a PhD student at Australian National University, said Mr Marles’ visit was significant and joint military exercises could be interpreted as the two countries manifesting a closer relationship.
“The two countries have had a long strategic relationship for a while, but it seems like they’ve been forgetting about it.” Mr Lee said.
“Currently, we have a right-wing president, which means that he prefers more deterrence (to North Korea) or strengthening alliances or partnerships with like-minded countries in the region, and will normally firm up ties with the US, Australia and Japan.”
This is a pattern when it comes to South Korean foreign policy, and China does not like this approach.
South Korea is growing as a major weapons dealer globally – arms sales jumped to more than US$17 billion ($25.7 billion) in 2022 from $7.25 billion (11 billion) the year before, according to the country’s defence ministry.
In 2021, Australia signed a $1 billion contract for armoured vehicles from Korean company Hanwha, the country’s largest defence contract with an Asian country.
South Korea wants to sell more weapons to Australia and “would be very interested in selling warships,” to its ally, Mr Lee said.
“Australia is a really attractive market because Australia has a lot of purchasing power, and the countries are sharing weapons systems as allies of the United States,” he said.
South Korea is in the running to win a US$12 billion ($18 billion) deal to supply Australia’s next infantry fighting vehicle.
According to Korean media, Hanwha has expressed interest in buying an Australian shipbuilding company.
Associate Professor at Yonsei University, Jeffrey Robertson, is sceptical and said South Korea sees Australia as more of a customer than a partner.
“If you speak to leftist politicians in Korea, they’ve got a totally different view. If you read Korean language media, if you live in Korea, you see that Australia is just not significant in Korea. The only rationale is natural resources and selling defence materials,” he said.
He added the current administration is conservative and “uses a lot of rhetoric, including terms such as freedom, democracy, human rights, and all the rest, but to tell the truth, the diplomacy hasn’t really changed all that much, there’s just more rhetoric”.
What are the two countries hoping to achieve in the Pacific?
The Korea Pacific Islands Forum marked the first time where Korea gathered leaders of Pacific Island nations in order to discuss South Korea’s new plan to engage more with their countries.
“The Summit demonstrates our shared commitment to stronger cooperation between Korea and the Pacific Islands Forum in support of a secure, peaceful and prosperous region,” Mr Marles said.
In May last year, China shelved its plan to sign a controversial regional agreement with Pacific Island nations.
Australia, South Korea and the US are hoping that Pacific Island nations will remain on their side in terms of trade and defence partnerships.
The forum represented “Korea showing admirable leadership within the region in which both of our countries live,” Mr Marles told Channel 7.
“It says a lot about how both Korea and Australia are seeing the world in very similar terms. You know, we both see that our security lies in the collective security in the region … “
What is next for Australia-South Korea relations?
Professor Robertson said the relationship needs modernisation, and Australia should look to expand its cultural presence in South Korea.
“A really big issue is making Australia relevant,” he said.
“They’ve got to do things like have more media interacting with Korea, more media exchanges, more exchanges between government officers, even think tanks, making joint programs between think tanks and translating work.”
In the unlikely situation that South Korea engaged in armed conflict across its northern border, Australia and the US would come to its defence.
But Professor Robertson said despite North Korea ramping up that rhetoric and nuclear testing, it won’t fire weapons at the South.
“I don’t think North Korea really wants to engage in any conflict with South Korea, because they will lose,” he said.
PhD student Mr Lee said both countries have selfish reasons to come to each other’s aid.
“We are relying on so much on maritime shipping, so if there would be conflict in the South China Sea, for example, both South Korea and Australia would not be able to use this maritime communication channel, which means that there will be some impact on trade of both countries.”
With additional reporting by AAP.
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