Seoul Proposes Military Pact with Beijing

[xinhui]

Seoul Proposes Military Pact with Beijing

The Chosun Ilbo (English Edition): Daily News from Korea - Seoul Proposes Military Pact with Beijing


South Korea has proposed a military information-sharing pact with China. A senior Foreign Ministry official recently visited Beijing, where he briefed Chinese officials on Seoul's pursuit of such an agreement with Tokyo and made an unofficial proposal for such a similar pact.

"The treaty we're seeking with Tokyo is a limited agreement we've already concluded with 24 countries, including Russia and Ukraine, so there's no reason not to conclude a similar one with Beijing," a government official here said. "We're waiting for an answer from Beijing."

It would be South Korea's first military pact with China, which fought on the side of North Korea in the Korean War.

The proposal aims to pre-empt resistance from China to the pact with Japan, according to experts.

But China is wary of sending the wrong signal to ally North Korea. Already Seoul and Beijing are expanding military exchanges and cooperation based on their strategic partnership. The two chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and chiefs of military service as well as the defense ministers from both countries already meet regularly.

Meanwhile, the government decided to put off signing the military pact with Japan amid worries from opposition parties and civic groups that Tokyo has failed to change its position on wartime atrocities like the sexual enslavement of Korean "comfort women" for the imperial army.
The Chosun Ilbo (English Edition): Daily News from Korea - Seoul Proposes Military Pact with Beijing

[xinhui]

South Korean Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin (third from R) visits China's J-10 fighter jet base

[hanswu25]

It would be very interesting game if information from SK reaches NK and vice versa. However I think the official answer from Beijing would be no.

[xinhui]

The communication has been in place for close to a year now.

China, U.S. Swapping Intel on North Korea, Cables Say
Monday, April 11, 2011
Global Security Newswire | NTI
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The United States and China have been quietly swapping intelligence on North Korea, the Sydney Morning Herald reported on Monday (see GSN, April 8).

Leaked U.S. diplomatic cables made public by the transparency organization WikiLeaks reveal that representatives of the U.S. National Intelligence Director's Office, the Defense Department and the CIA have held covert meetings with Chinese military intelligence officers to discuss the North.

U.S. Defense Undersecretary Michele Flournoy met with senior Chinese generals in Beijing in July 2009 for a lengthy discussion about the Stalinist state, the cables say.

The seeming cooperation comes amid U.S. concerns about China's own military buildup (see GSN, March 31).

The head of the Chinese military intelligence branch, Maj. Gen. Yang Hui, noted the "close cooperation" with Washington on "matters of intelligence" relating to the North and specified a trip by his department to swap intelligence with the CIA.

Following Pyongyang's second nuclear test blast in May 2009, Yang said: "North Korea is in an 'inferior position' to South Korea based on all measurements of national strength."

Wed, Jul 27, 2011

South Korea and China held their first strategic military talks Wednesday, covering defence exchanges and regional security issues including North Korea, officials said.

The meeting followed talks between the two countries' defence ministers on July 15 in Beijing, amid chilly relations between China's ally North Korea and its southern neighbour.

Vice defence minister Lee Yong-Gul led the South's delegation while China was headed by Ma Xiaotian, deputy chief of general staff.

In his opening remarks, Lee said the forum would contribute to peace and stability on the peninsula and in Northeast Asia, according to the South's defence ministry.

Ma described South Korea and China as "neighbours and important nations" in Northeast Asia and called for bilateral defence exchanges, it said.

Yonhap news agency said the agenda also included co-operation in fighting piracy off Somalia. South Korean officials said details would be released on Thursday.

The strategic meeting comes as ties between the two Koreas are at their lowest ebb in almost a decade.

The South accused the North of torpedoing one of its warships with the loss of 46 lives in March 2010. The North denied the charge but last November shelled a frontline island, killing four South Koreans.

China, the North's sole major ally and its economic lifeline, sparked irritation in Seoul by failing to blame Pyongyang categorically for the attacks.

[xinhui]

Seoul seeks military deal with Beijing

Seoul seeks military deal with Beijing

By Chung Min-uck

Seoul is seeking a military agreement with its largest trade partner China, according to officials, in an apparent bid to ease a possible backlash after halting a similar move towards an accord with Japan.

The move came just days after Seoul suspended signing of military pacts with Tokyo.

“We are pursuing a similar mutual logistical agreement with China too,” said Kim Min-seok, a spokesman for the Defense Ministry, Monday.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Seoul has also been in low key talks for a proposed pact with Beijing for an exchange of military intelligence.

Seoul is discussing signing a similar agreement with Tokyo as well.

“Of late, we introduced to the Chinese officials our ongoing General Security of Military Information Act (GSOMIA) with Japan,” said a foreign ministry official on condition of anonymity. “We previously held talks several times with the Chinese counterparts on pursuing the deal.”

The official declined to give specifics on the behind-the-scene talks.

A senior foreign ministry official, during a recent visit to Beijing, briefed about Seoul’s ongoing military agreement talks with Japan and made an unofficial proposal of signing one with China.

Observers say South Korea’s move aims to pre-empt Beijing’s resistance to possible trilateral military cooperation involving Seoul, Washington and Tokyo.

China interprets the bilateral military agreement between Seoul and Japan as the first step toward a stronger “southern alliance” led by the United States.

Against the backdrop, experts are concerned about rising tensions on the Korean peninsula as the three-way cooperation could prompt Pyongyang, Beijing and Moscow to step up their own “northern alliance.”

The Ministry of Defense, however, denied of such speculations.

“It is wrong to say the military agreement with Japan will result in a cold-war-like confrontation between the two sides,” said Kim. “We will seek bilateral military agreements (with Japan) in a careful manner.”

Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin Thursday delayed his visit to Tokyo, which had been scheduled to take place at the end of the month, due to public backlash over the signing of the deals.

One of the pacts is GSOMIA, which allows the two nations to share information on North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs. The other is the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA), also known as the Mutual Logistic Support Agreement, which calls for exchanging most common types of support, such as food, fuel, transportation, ammunition and equipment, excluding weapons.

South Koreans are especially sensitive on the latter as it could give Japan the capacity to intervene on the peninsula.

The pacts, if signed, would be the first military agreement since Japan’s colonial rule over Korea which ended in 1945.

Meanwhile, the Obama administration has lately shown great interest in the Asian pacific region describing it as the future of the U.S. which includes military build-up and the strengthening of alliances throughout the area, an apparent move to undercut Chinese influence in the region.

[Franker65]

I'm a bit surprised but this can only be good news for Asian stability. Hopefully it'll deter North Korea.

[xinhui]

(LEAD) S. Korea, China to hold defense talks in Beijing this week
SEOUL, July 30 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's vice defense minister departed for Beijing Monday for talks with a top Chinese military official expected to focus mainly on expanding military logistics cooperation for disaster relief between the two nations, officials said.

During his four-day trip, Lee Yong-gul will meet Gen. Ma Xiaotian, deputy chief of general staff of the Chinese army, to talk about security issues on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia, the ministry said in a release, without elaborating on the agenda.

The two sides are expected to talk about signing a memorandum of understanding on boosting cooperation on mutual logistical support in case of a large-scale disaster, ministry officials said. Working-level officials of the two sides previously discussed the issue in a military meeting in October.
"The two sides will discuss the memorandum of understanding of the mutual military logistics agreement for disaster relief efforts and make a regular study group to expand personnel exchanges," a ministry official said, noting more details will be disclosed after Tuesday meeting.

The meeting is the second of its kind after military chiefs of the two nations held an inaugural strategic defense talk in July of last year. During the Seoul meeting, South Korea and China agreed to strengthen cooperation in rescue efforts for disaster-hit areas and resume exchanges in military training between them.

(LEAD) S. Korea, China to hold defense talks in Beijing this week | YONHAP NEWS