South Korea on Wednesday became the latest country to issue a strategy on the Indo Pacific and aims to increase “strategic communication and cooperation” with India through high-level exchanges in foreign affairs and defense. Under the strategy, Seoul also hopes to upgrade the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with India signed more than decade ago. Both sides have been negotiating the upgradation of the trade pact, with the last round taking place in Seoul in November of this year.
The document highlighted the need to “advance our special strategic partnership with India” describing the country as a “leading regional partner with shared values”. It explained how the South Asian country “presents great potential for growth” having the “world’s second largest population and cutting-edge IT and space technologies”. The mention of India under the strategy shows Seoul intent to take the relationship further.
The Republic of Korea began to formulate its own Indo-Pacific Strategy with the inauguration of the Yoon Suk Yeol administration. The country sees itself as an Indo Pacific nation which is home to 65% of the world population, 62% of the world’s GDP, 46% of international trade, and half of global maritime transport.
The 42 Page document has “core lines of efforts” which include promotion of “rule of law and human rights”, “strengthen nonproliferation and counter terrorism efforts across the region”, “expand comprehensive security cooperation”, ” engage in contributive diplomacy” among others. The document termed China as a “key partner for achieving prosperity and peace” and called the freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea to be “respected”.
Indo Pacific sees Indian and the Pacific oceans as a common construct and has been backed by many countries, including India, US, Japan, Australia. China has been critical of the vision and sees it as an attempt to corner it.
