'South Korea’s Blue-water Ambitions' - The Diplomat

My latest article on the Republic of Korea Navy's (ROKN) blue-water development was published in The Diplomat. The following is the article's main point:

"The impressive advances the South Korean Navy has made are already giving it some of the greater recognition it has been seeking. In September, A.K. Antony became the first Indian defence minister to visit South Korea. A major motivation for his visit was undoubtedly growing concern over a rising China, and India is said to be keen to enhance naval cooperation with South Korea in the Indian Ocean.

"Earlier this month, meanwhile, Japanese Prime Minister Kan Naoto publicly expressed his desire for greater security cooperation between Japan and South Korea, stating that it is ‘very important’ for regional stability that Japan and South Korea form defence ties alongside the US-Japan alliance. Kan’s statement marked the first time in history that a Japanese prime minister had officially stated his desire for military ties with South Korea.

"But the potential for greater security co-operation with Japan and India rests largely on South Korea’s navy—by far the country’s most able power projection service. Although the kind of co-operation discussed between South Korea and India and Japan won’t always be explicitly aimed at China, it’s no secret in the region that the PLAN’s build-up is a key driver behind the unprecedented scale of naval modernization programmes taking place across Asia.

"The Indian and Japanese overtures then are just part of a bigger picture that's forming in the Asia-Pacific. But it’s already clear that the ROKN’s blue-water development has given the country at least some of the prestige and influence that Admiral An had envisaged. Fortunately for a region that faces the unwelcome prospect of a deteriorating security climate, the past 15 years have seen only the beginning of South Korea's blue-water ambitions."

Happy reading!