India-Republic of Korea Military Diplomacy : Past and Future Projections

As the first decade of the 21st century ended, India-Republic of Korea (ROK) relationship has assumed robustness in almost all dimensions – political, cultural and economic. As both countries enter the new year, a new dimension – security and strategic – that began in the preceding decade is likely to be seen in the expanding military cooperation, that began in the closing months of the preceding year. The foundation for such a relationship is already in place as both countries have identified a convergence of interests. Closer military relations will not only strengthen the strategic dimension of the bilateral ties, but it will also yield economic dividends. This will take the form of collaboration in projects, development and production of defence technologies, etc. This paper attempts to identify the areas and scope for expanding this dimension of the relationship and projects the future scenario of the overall bilateral ties. The changing geopolitical environment in the region, the expectations that both will play a stabilising role in a volatile and turbulent Asian region will be examined. The political, economic and cultural dimensions of the bilateral ties are beyond the scope of this paper. The Sino-Indian rivalry and the China factor impacting in the evolution of India-ROK ties will also be discussed.