South Korea, Japan and China propose military pact

Seoul Proposes Military Pact with Beijing

South Korea has proposed a military information-sharing pact with China. A senior Foreign Ministry official recently visited Beijing, where he briefed Chinese officials on Seoul's pursuit of such an agreement with Tokyo and made an unofficial proposal for such a similar pact.

"The treaty we're seeking with Tokyo is a limited agreement we've already concluded with 24 countries, including Russia and Ukraine, so there's no reason not to conclude a similar one with Beijing," a government official here said. "We're waiting for an answer from Beijing."

It would be South Korea's first military pact with China, which fought on the side of North Korea in the Korean War.

The proposal aims to pre-empt resistance from China to the pact with Japan, according to experts.

But China is wary of sending the wrong signal to ally North Korea. Already Seoul and Beijing are expanding military exchanges and cooperation based on their strategic partnership. The two chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and chiefs of military service as well as the defense ministers from both countries already meet regularly.

Meanwhile, the government decided to put off signing the military pact with Japan amid worries from opposition parties and civic groups that Tokyo has failed to change its position on wartime atrocities like the sexual enslavement of Korean "comfort women" for the imperial army.

englishnews@chosun.com / May 21, 2012 09:15 KST


Seoul seeks to boost military ties with China

2012-05-21 15:44

South Korea recently approached China on signing an agreement regarding military supplies during emergency rescue operations as part of broadening defense cooperation between the two countries, officials said Monday.

China, however, is reportedly cautious due to concerns that military agreements with Seoul may negatively impact North Korea.

According to Ministry of National Defense spokesperson Kim Min-seok, the two countries are seeking an agreement similar to the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement but limited to emergency recovery operations.

The ACSA allows the militaries of concerned nations to provide services and supplies to each other while on overseas missions more efficiently. Seoul currently has the ACSA with 10 countries, and is in the process of negotiating the agreement with a further 10.

Kim also said that Russia is among the 24 countries with which South Korea signed the General Security of Military Information Agreement, which allows sharing of information between concerned militaries.

Since Seoul and Beijing upgraded bilateral relations to that of a strategic partnership in 2008, the two countries have been strengthening military cooperation.

Last year the two countries held the first strategic defense talks, where the delegations discussed issues regarding the establishment of defense training exchange channels and ways to expand its scale in the future.

Seoul and Beijing’s militaries have also been holding joint marine search and rescue exercises for some time, and have been working on improving cooperation in areas concerning cross-provision of supplies and services. The two sides have so far held seven rounds of talks regarding the issue.

In addition, North Korea’s continued defiance of international agreements regarding nuclear weapons has highlighted the need for stronger ties with Beijing.

South Korea is currently in talks with Japan on signing the GSOMIA and ACSA.

The process, which the Ministry of National Defense had originally intended to conclude at the end of the month, has been slowed down with the South Korean Minister of Defense Kim Kwan-jin canceling his trip to Japan.

The agreements, which will be the first military pact Seoul signs with Tokyo, stirred up anti-Japan sentiment and prompted some to speculate that Japan’s Self Defense Force could be dispatched to South Korea in emergency situations.

Seoul’s military has rejected such speculation, and said that the Defense Ministry will push for the pacts after further working-level negotiations have been conducted.

By Choi He-suk (cheeusk@heraldm.com)

I'm trying to think strategically here. Why would South Korea do this, other than to play both sides of the fence for their own safety? Geographically, they are in a tough spot.

The Obama Administration's foreign policy is creating vacuums of unintended consequences throughout Asia, Europe and the ME...

South Korea, China, Japan agree to start official FTA talks

2012-05-13 20:29

BEIJING ― The leaders of South Korea, China and Japan agreed to start official negotiations on a trilateral free trade pact within this year during their annual meeting in Beijing on Sunday, stepping up efforts to deepen economic cooperation.

To this end, they agreed to begin the necessary domestic procedures and working-level consultations soon, Seoul officials said.

President Lee Myung-bak, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda discussed their cooperation in business, trade, security and other pending issues during the talks, the fifth of their kind.

“The start of the FTA negotiations within this year is very meaningful for the future of the three countries’ cooperation,” Lee said during a joint press conference.

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President Lee Myung-bak (left), Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (center) and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda pose prior to the annual trilateral summit in Beijing on Sunday. (Yonhap News)

The Chinese premier said that the decision on the FTA talks is a “crucial and strategic one” while Noda called it a “big outcome” of the summit meeting.

The envisioned pact would create one of the world’s largest economic blocs, comparable to the EU and the North American Free Trade Agreement.

The three countries’ combined population amounts to some 1.5 billion, less than a fifth of the world’s total. Their gross domestic product amounts to $12 trillion, some 20 percent of the world’s total.

Earlier this month, Seoul and Beijing declared their beginning of bilateral FTA negotiations.

During the summit, the three countries also signed an agreement aimed at setting legal, institutional grounds to protect their investors operating in each other’s territories.

The first economic deal between the three Asian powers features a fair treatment of foreign investors, strengthened protection of intellectual property and a ban on toughening investment-related regulations.

The deal goes into effect a month after the three countries notify one another that they have completed their domestic procedures including securing parliamentary approval.

North Korea topped the security agenda at the summit as concerns continue that it could soon carry out its third nuclear test.

Lee said that time has come to devise a “new, effective” measure to deter North Korea’s provocations, stressing that the three nations should work closely together to address security issues involving the reclusive state.

The Chinese premier stressed the importance of preventing tension on the Korean Peninsula.

“We should throw away the Cold War-era way of thinking and address issues through dialogue. The urgent priority is to prevent tension on the Korea Peninsula,” he said.

“We should have patience and good will. It is important to go back to the right track of dialogue and negotiations.”

Speculation has abounded that Pyongyang could conduct another underground nuclear test to make up for last month’s botched rocket launch and increase its bargaining power with the U.S.

The international community including China has remained united to dissuade the North from any action that hampers stability and peace in the region and beyond.

Last week, the five permanent U.N. Security Council members ― the U.S., Britain, China, Russia and France ― issued a joint statement urging Pyongyang to “refrain from further actions that may cause grave security concerns in the region, including any nuclear tests.”

Above all, China’s position is critical in reining in its wayward ally Pyongyang, analysts said. Beijing has recently sent warnings to its impoverished ally against another nuclear test, since uncertainty with the untested, inexperienced leader Kim Jong-un still lingers.

A set of agreements reached during the summit were announced in the “Joint Declaration on the Enhancement of Trilateral Comprehensive Cooperative Partnership” at the close of the trilateral meeting.

The three countries also adopted two annexes to the declaration.

One carries the joint statement on agricultural cooperation that calls for deepened cooperation to deal with such issues as food security, biodiversity, natural disasters and infectious illnesses among plants and animals.

The other is the joint statement on cooperation on sustainable forest management, combating desertification and wildlife conservation. It calls for more active trilateral engagement in tackling regional and global environmental issues.

The trilateral summit has been held annually since 2008 when its inaugural meeting took place in Fukuoka, Japan. The second one was held in Beijing while the third and fourth were held on Jeju Island, South Korea, and in Tokyo, Japan, respectively.

For the annual summit, the countries established a secretariat in Seoul last September.

At the South Korea-Japan-China Business Summit held after the leaders’ annual talks, Lee said that the trilateral FTA will contribute to prosperity in Northeast Asia and the resolution of the economic crisis facing the world.

“To overcome today’s economic crisis, I believe expanding free trade and international cooperation are important,” he said during his keynote speech at the Business Summit.

“Korea signed free trade deals with 45 nations including the U.S. and the EU, and has become a free trade hub that links the world’s market, and accounts for 61 percent of the world’s gross domestic product.”

Later in the day, Lee and the Chinese premier held bilateral talks where they agreed to expand security and military cooperation, and improve collaboration in future growth engines such as energy and green growth.

They also agreed to deepen their friendship through cultural and people-to-people exchanges as the two countries mark the 20th anniversary of their diplomatic ties.

By Song Sang-ho, Korea Herald correspondent
(sshluck@heraldm.com)


05/22/2012 10:27
KOREA - CHINA - JAPAN
South Korea and Japan propose military pact with China

South Korea and Japan propose military pact with China

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This is the first time in its history that the South Korean government has held out its hand to military cooperation with the Chinese and Japanese. But the communist regime is afraid of angering Pyongyang.

Seoul (AsiaNews) - The South Korean government has proposed an agreement to share "sensitive" military information with China and Japan . This is the first time since its creation that the government of Seoul has held out his hand to the two Asian governments, against whom it fought in several wars.

A representative of the Korean government said: "We are trying to perfect a limited treaty that we have already signed with 24 nations, including Russia and Ukraine. It is a kind of axis for the sharing of military information: there is no reason not to propose it also to Beijing. "

If it were accepted, it would be the first such agreement concluded between South Korea and China, which fought alongside North Korea during the bloody Korean War in 1950. And Pyongyang could be a determining factor.

The Chinese government is in fact the last remaining ally of the Stalinist regime, which relies on an trained army and a nuclear arsenal. A military pact with Seoul could "send the wrong message - says a Chinese official - and we do not want to lose our influence over that country."

http://m.asianews.it/news/24806?l=en