India and South Korea Signed Defence Agreements

India and South Korea on 3rd September 2010 signed two defence MoUs during the 3-day visit of Indian Defnce Minister AK Antony to South Korea.The first MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) between India and South Korea is about increasing the mutual exchange of military experience between the two nations through organising joint training exercises and increasing mutual visits by military personnel of the two nations. The MoU will remain valid for a period of five years with provision for its extension by five more years.

The second MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) is related to detecting defence technology areas in which India and South Korea can together develop and produce products. This includes marine systems besides electronics and intelligent systems. South Korea is a leading nation in the marine system while in electronics and intelligent systems both India and South Korea have expertise. The MoU envisages co-development and co-production of defence products with Indian industry through DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation).

Besides, these two MoUs, India and South Korea also decided to have more cooperation in the field of maritime security.The visit of AK Antony was first ever visit by an Indian defence minister to South Korea.

India and South Korea needs to have active military cooperation particularly in maritime sector to counter sea piracy and maintain power balance in Asia Pacific region.