Alongside the recent deterioration of Israel’s diplomatic relations with
countries in the region, it has been making great efforts to upgrade relations
in Asia. The recent burgeoning of its relations with the Republic of Korea, or
South Korea, is a good example of the progress it is making in this
regard.
Israel and South Korea first established diplomatic relations in
1962, but Israel closed its embassy in Seoul in 1978 following a policy shift by
South Korea in the aftermath of the 1973 and later 1979 oil crises, although the
official reason given for the closure was budgetary. The embassy was reopened in
1992.
Relations between the two countries were frosty for a prolonged
period, but were never completely severed. Today, as the 50-year anniversary of
the establishment of relations between Israel and South Korea approaches, South
Korea has been expressing its keenness to strengthen the relationship in the
military-security, science and technology and renewable energy fields, alongside
increased bilateral trade.
Between 1990 and 2000, trade relations between
the two flourished, with Israel exporting materials required in chemical
industries, precious stones and metals, electronic devices and optical devices
to South Korea, while Seoul exported vehicles, textiles and other consumer
goods. The decade since has seen a steady improvement in relations on most of
fronts, and looks to be on the way to becoming a true “strategic
partnership.”
Over the past few years, there have been frequent
high-level official visits between the two countries.
President Shimon
Peres visited Seoul in June 2010 amid the Gaza-flotilla debacle, along with then-
Industry, Trade and Labor minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer and Communication
Minister Moshe Kahlon. Discussions were focused on increasing economic and
technological cooperation.
Shortly thereafter, in early 2011, an
eleven-member South Korean delegation visited Jerusalem and met the Israeli
president. Both countries pledged to intensify their relationship on all
fronts. One of the most important discussions was that on the Free Trade
Agreement (FTA) which is likely to be signed sometime in April this year. If
this happens, then trade, science and technological cooperation will greatly
increase.
It was estimated that during the first nine months of 2011
Israel’s exports to South Korea (excluding diamonds) stood at $500 million while
that of the imports amounted to approx. $1.1 billion. This significant figure
demonstrates the development of their economic relations.
The
military-security dimension of Israel-South Korea relations has also gained
significance over the past few years. Considering Israel’s cutting-edge military
industrial advancement, South Korea has expressed its desire to purchase
military hardware including drones, missiles, radar and possibly also missile
defense systems.
Seoul is planning to make Israel one of its main arms
suppliers alongside the United States. Its desire to procure advanced weapons
systems and technology from Israel stems largely from its deteriorating
relations with North Korea.
In 2009, South Korea’s military decided to
buy Israeli Green Pine Block-B, or Oren Yarok, radar systems, in a deal worth
$215m. In October 2010, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and South Korea signed
two additional deals for radar systems (manufactured by Israel’s Elta).
Furthermore, in June 2011, the vice-commissioner of the South Korean Defense
Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) Kwon Oh-bong visited Israel and toured
the former’s defense industry, and also met senior Defense Ministry
officials.
Kwon, after his visit to the Rafael Advanced Defense Systems,
expressed interest in the Iron Dome rocket interception
system. Thereafter, South Korea struck a $43m. deal with Israel for the
purchase of advanced Spike NLOS (no line of sight) anti-tank rockets. One
crack in this otherwise promising relationship developed when South Korea
learned Israel was leaning towards purchasing the Italian-made M-346 training
aircraft to replace its aging A-4 Skyhawks.
According to the South
Koreans, stated preference for the Italian plane put South Korea “in a
disadvantageous position in negotiations for the sale of the training plane.”
However, the South Koreans are still hopeful that Israel will decide to purchase
the Korean Aerospace Industries’ T-50 Golden Eagle as its next advanced trainer
aircraft. If the deal, which is for about 30 aircraft and is estimated to be
worth over $1b. goes through, it would mark Israel’s first procurement of a jet
from a country in the Far East, and would be a demonstration of the
technological advancements South Korea has achieved.
Despite Seoul’s
threats to cancel defense deals with Israel over the issue, there has been no
evidence of deterioration in bilateral ties and defense-related cooperation
continues to grow.
The rapid growth of defense-related cooperation comes
at a time when Israel is searching for new alliances in the face of growing
diplomatic isolation in the region. For instance, Israel recently lost one of
its most lucrative defense markets, namely Turkey, in the aftermath of the Mavi
Marmara flotilla incident. Also, Egypt, its most important long-time peace ally
seems likely to fall into the hands of the Islamist Muslim
Brotherhood.
With these regional developments, on top of the American
withdrawal from Afghanistan and Iraq, Israeli arms sales to South Korea will be
beneficial for the defense industry. If not a stopgap measure for the above
shortfalls, Israel’s arms sales to South Korea will be an immense boost for its
defense economy and R&D.
Keeping in mind the developments between the
two countries on all the aforementioned fronts, their relationship can be termed
a “strategic partnership.” It has matured and is now expanding to other areas,
though military-oriented cooperation is still dominant. Considering
Israel and South Korea’s problems with their respective immediate neighbors,
their bilateral relationship will likely continue to be driven by these close
defense ties and shared national security challenges. Finally, Israel and
South Korea must enhance their political engagement to further the bilateral
ties.
The writer is a scholar at the School of International Studies at
Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, India. He served in 2010- 2011 as a
Fellow at the Begin-Sadat (BESA) Center for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan
University.