SEOUL, South Korea’s participation in an India-led multilateral initiative for maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region can be one of the many ways through which the bilateral relationship could further develop, India’s top diplomat said Tuesday.
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, minister of external affairs, made the point at a forum in Seoul, referring to the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI), an open mechanism proposed by his country to address shared challenges and ensure maritime security and stability in the region.
“The stakes in terms of trade, investment services, resources, logistics and technology in the Indo-Pacific are growing by the day. Ensuring the stability, safety and security of this region is therefore vital for us,” Jaishankar said in his speech at the forum hosted by the Korea National Diplomatic Academy.
“ROK, as an important trading country, maritime security is a very, very vital concern. Its participation in the initiatives like the Indo-Pacific Oceans initiative, which looks at a
range of oceanic issues, from ecology and environment to transport and science and technology, would, I think, be a very valuable addition,” he said.
ROK stands for the Republic of Korea, South Korea’s official name.
Jaishankar was in Seoul for a high-level dialogue between the foreign ministries of the two countries, slated for Wednesday.
The initiative, first proposed by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Shangri-La Dialogue in 2018, offers cooperation in seven pillars from maritime security, ecology and resources to disaster risk reduction and technology.
Australia and Japan have committed to working with India to develop the IPOI. Vietnam and the Philippines have expressed willingness to cooperate on the initiative.
Jaishankar said the Indo-Pacific region has emerged as a consequence of geopolitical shifts in the last few decades, as evidenced by India’s own “Look East Policy” and its upgraded version, the “Act East Policy,” to boost economic ties with the countries in the Asia-Pacific.
Noti
ng South Korea’s Indo-Pacific strategy, announced under the Yoon Suk Yeol government in 2022, Jaishankar said it shows the potential for the two countries to work more closely as like-minded countries in common areas, such as building “reliable and resilient” supply chains.
In that vein, India is an “attraction” to South Korean businesses as a platform for global production, he added.
“Korea is very much regarded as a leader in many of new technology areas … you look at everything you are good at and we look at things where we feel we are good at,” he said. “Those intersections, those partnerships are very much the future.”
Source: Yonhap News Agency