South Korean Defence Minister Suh Wook To Visit India This Week
South Korean Defence Minister Suh Wook is likely to visit India this week to hold high-level talks with defence Minister Rajnath Singh, sources told ANI. South Korean media reported on Monday that Suh Wook is visiting the United Arab Emirates and India this week to expand exchanges. “From Thursday to Saturday, Suh will visit India and meet with his Indian counterpart, Rajnath Singh, to talk about working together on military technologies. Suh will take part in the opening ceremony of the Korea-India Friendship Park. The two countries agreed to build it in 2019,” the media outlet reported.
The likely visit from the South Korean defence minister follows US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin was on a three-day visit where he said that India is an increasingly important partner amid today’s rapidly shifting international dynamics adding that the ties between Washington and New Delhi are a “stronghold of a free and open Indo-Pacific region”.
India and South Korea had in December last year held consultations on issues related to bilateral cooperation and international issues of mutual interest including defence and security cooperation, Covid-19 response and coordination in multilateral forums. Indo-Pacific region is largely viewed as an area comprising the Indian Ocean and the western and central Pacific Ocean, including the South China Sea.
China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea and its efforts to advance into the Indian Ocean are seen to have challenged the established rules-based system. According to South Korean media, observers have speculated that Seoul and New Delhi could address the Quad alliance comprising the US, Australia, India and Japan, which had held its first virtual summit on March 12.
