Opinion New friend from the east
South Korea is a perfect partner for India in rebalancing Asia....
Although South Korea is one of the worlds leading economies and a major commercial partner of India,it has not figured high on Delhis list of foreign policy priorities. Seouls strategic policies,too,had been limited by the tragic consequences of the partition of the Korean peninsula at the end of World War II. Koreas worldview has had a narrow focus on the troubled relations with North Korea,the alliance with the United States and the security environment in Northeast Asia.
This prolonged mutual strategic neglect will hopefully end this week with the presence of President Lee Myung-bak as the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations in Delhi.
One of the first foreign policy acts of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh after the UPA government returned to power last year was to sign the comprehensive economic partnership agreement with Seoul. The CEPA has come into force this month. Dr Singh now has the chance to complement his economic outreach to South Korea with a full-fledged strategic partnership.
Much like China and Japan,which have steadily increased their political and economic influence in South Asia and the Indian Ocean littoral,India has every reason to seek a larger role in shaping the balance of power in the Western Pacific Ocean.
As South Korea seeks to raise its political profile across the world,it is the perfect partner for India in rebalancing Asia amidst the rise of China,political uncertainties in Japan and the growing perception of Americas relative decline.
Traditionally Korea has been seen as a shrimp among the whales. Caught between China,Russia,Japan and the US,Korea was a mere subject of great power politics in Northeast Asia. The Korean elite,it seems,has had enough at the receiving end; they want to become,shall we say,a shark among the whales.
If North Korea has shown the immense negative possibilities of the peninsulas role in Asian affairs by its nuclear weapons programme and its transfer of missiles and their production technology to Pakistan and other regimes,South Korea is now determined to demonstrate the positive potential.
As the worlds 13th largest economy with the sixth largest armed forces,fourth in the mathematical proficiency of students,fifth largest spender on research and development,topmost builder of commercial ships,and the sixth largest importer of oil South Korea is now ready for prime time in Asia.
Under the leadership of President Lee,South Korea is all set to close the gap between its strategic potential and performance. The South Korean leadership wants to break out of the inherited provincialism,broaden its foreign policy engagement beyond Northeast Asia and reposition itself as a balancer in the Western Pacific.
No wonder Seoul has put a new emphasis on modernising its armed forces,building a blue water navy,developing a strategic space programme. Given South Koreas intense nationalism and a strong streak of autonomy (it refuses to defer to either China or Japan),Delhi has everything to gain by strongly supporting Seouls foreign policy ambitions.
In recent years,India has expanded its security engagement of the US,Japan,Australia,and China. Delhi has made occasional naval forays into the Western Pacific and shown the flag in the South China Sea. If India wants to reinforce the security dimension of its look east policy,the following steps present themselves at the very top of Prime Minister Singhs conversations with President Lee.
The first is a formal declaration on bilateral defence cooperation similar to the ones that India has signed with Tokyo and Canberra last year and the military MoU with Beijing in 2006.
Second,as a major importer of natural resources and leading exporter of manufactured goods,South Korea has great interest in the protection of Sea Lines of Communication in the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea. That makes the country a valuable partner for India in the policing of the sea lanes from the Western Indian Ocean to the Western Pacific. This should necessarily involve mutual maritime support far from their shores Korean naval operations in the Indian Ocean and Indian naval presence in the Western Pacific.
Third,of special importance for India,is the potential collaboration with South Korea in rapidly expanding Indian shipbuilding capacities. Indias plans to build a large naval fleet are constrained by the inability of Indian public sector shipyards to meet the demand. Seoul and its large shipbuilders can be natural allies of Indias emerging private shipyards in the strengthening of Indian infrastructure for the design and construction of both ships and submarines.
Fourth,South Korea,after a delayed start,is poised to emerge as a major space faring nation. India and South Korea must exploit the many synergies that beckon them in the commercialisation of outer space,governance of global space activity,and in countering the spread of ballistic missiles in Asia.
Finally,the two sides are reportedly discussing the prospects for civilian nuclear cooperation. Prime Minister Singh and President Lee should however look beyond the mere transfer of nuclear reactors and look for a much broader range of civilian nuclear cooperation and the promotion of regional non-proliferation arrangements.
For its part,Delhi must understand why Seoul is chafing under the restrictions imposed by the previous international agreements on the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula. These are rules that North Korea has brazenly violated and dont apply to other nations in Northeast Asia. India must respond to South Koreas nuclear aspirations by agreeing to work together in the development of advanced fuel cycle facilities under full international safeguards.
The writer is Henry A. Kissinger Chair in Foreign Policy and
International Relations at the Library of Congress,Washington DC express@expressindia.com
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