India-South Korea defence partnership Rattles China
Just a few pacts for purchase of defence equipment between India and South Korea and the news of a South Korean firm entering the fray for submarine construction in India, has rattled the great military power China.
China which has been supplying all kinds of weapons to the terrorist State of Pakistan fir use against India has become so terrified that it has stated that it is vigilant to growing India-S Korea defence cooperation and feels concerned that this partnership could be a threat to China..
An important state-run Chinese English daily has written that India is trying to win over Southeast Asian countries with a move toward a multilateral defence.
“It recently conducted joint maritime exercises with Singapore and Thailand. Incorporating South Korea into this mechanism is a potential threat to China’s peripheral security, warned the state sponsored media,” according to The Global Times article titled ‘China should remain alert to India-South Korea security cooperation’.
“This Seoul-New Delhi defence cooperation has moved forward as a result of their national strategies and external factors. The Indian Ocean is South Korea’s energy import route from the Middle East. To ensure transport security, Seoul must enhance joint escort operations with India,” said The Global Times.
“Two strategic considerations define India’s security cooperation with South Korea. First, New Delhi hopes to get more involved in Northeast Asian issues while expanding regional influence. Developing all-round cooperation with South Korea is conducive to India’s involvement in Northeast Asia. Second, New Delhi wants to seek Seoul’s cooperation in addressing the “China threat”. How far can Seoul-New Delhi security cooperation progress? To some extent this is influenced by Seoul-Tokyo and Seoul-Beijing ties,” suggested the article.
“…as a significant player in the US Indo-Pacific Strategy, India could garner US support by cooperating with South Korea. Beijing must be wary of the possibilities of Washington and New Delhi wooing Seoul to join the Indo-Pacific Strategy,” the Global Times further warned.
So it seems that the tables have been turned. The Chinese involvement in a naval port in Pakistan is not a threat to India, the Chinese activities in Habantota in Srilanka is not a threat to India, poking its nose in Maldives was just tourism for China but India’s economic ties with any country in the Indo Pacific becomes a threat to China. Then be it so and China must live with it.
