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Bilateral Efforts to Reinforce Cooperative Relations

The “Korea-Australia Dialogue 2010,” which was held in Seoul (May 26-27), provided a venue for representatives from Korea and Australia, two mid-size powers of the Asia-Pacific region, to redouble their efforts to develop a strategic partnership, based on a dialogue theme of “Expanding Cooperation in the 2010s.”



The “Korea-Australia Dialogue 2010” forum included the participation of prominent figures from Korea (14) and Australia (14), under the leadership of co-chairpersons, Han Sung Joo, former Minister for Foreign Affairs, Korea and Robert Ray, former Minister for Defence, Australia.

Shaping the Political Strategic Environment
The first discussion session, on “Shaping the Political Strategic Environment,” focused on the geo-strategic issues of Northeast Asia, in particular regard to matters surrounding the Korean Peninsula. Robert Ray highlighted the importance of Asia, and especially Korea, due to its geo-strategic significance, while Choi Jong-moon, Director-General, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, described Australia’s favorable image in Korea and the positive direction of Korea-Australia bilateral relations. In addition, John Fisher, Assistant Secretary, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australia, addressed Australia’s viewpoint on the existing and proposed political architectures in Asia. In line with this, David Palmer, Chair, Australia Korea Foundation, highlighted the key role that the G20 needs to play in moving the Doha round forward, while John Denton, Board Member, Business Council of Australia noted that the U.S. was showing little initiative in this process thus far.
Arch Bevis, Member of the House of Representatives, Australia, congratulated Korea for its hosting of the G20 summit meeting in November 2010. In spite of the constructive bilateral relationship overall, he pointed out an inadequate understanding, to a certain extent, about the industry and defense capabilities of the two countries. He thus called for Australia and Korea to clarify their mutual military and defense capabilities and to identify areas for the promotion of closer cooperation between defense-related industries. He emphasized the need for cooperative efforts to reinforce regional security, in light of China’s rising influence in the region, and to coordinate cyber security efforts for the corporate and government sectors. Robert Ray also proposed a sharing of intelligence in the region and long-term joint defense research and military exercises.
The recent Cheonan incident attracted much attention due to its significance and implications for security concerns of the Korean Peninsula. Professor Lee Chung Min, Yonsei University, highlighted the rules of engagement and mentioned that the Korea-U.S. partnership has responded effectively to the situation. Meanwhile, Sam Gerovich, Australian Ambassador to the Republic of Korea, confirmed Australia’s strong support for Korea by officially endorsing the investigation findings of the Cheonan incident. Senator Russell Trood, and other participants, highlighted the key role of China in regard to this matter, and the implications for China’s future relations in the region.



Expanding Trade and Economic Cooperation
During the session on “Expanding Trade and Economic Cooperation,” at this time when a Korea-Australia Free Trade Agreement is about to be concluded, Park Se-yong, Chairman, Korea-Australia Foundation, identified key factors behind the future growth of bilateral trade and investment: national-level coordination, institutional exchange, and technology sharing, along with three challenges: the need to expand civilian-level interaction, national cooperation, and to overcome institutional differences. John Walker, Chairman, Macquarie Group of Companies, Korea, remarked on Korea’s efforts to open up the Korean market and trade, especially in terms of financial liberalization. He suggested that Korea’s understanding of Australia’s economic capacity should be broadened from that of a natural resource provider to its parallel strengths in financial and management expertise, along with mentioning the Macquarie Group’s willingness to work closely with Korea, in particular regard to joint investment projects.
Lee Hee-Beom, Chairman & CEO, STX Energy • STX Heavy Industries, explained the experiences of STX in dealing with Australia’s resource sector, while Shin Heon Cheol, Vice Chairman, SK Energy, remarked on SK’s resource exploration and development experiences. Erica Smyth, Chairperson of Toro Energy, and Belinda Robinson, Chief Executive, Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association, described investment opportunities related to Australia’s mining sector and called for the promotion of more active joint cooperation. Professor Seo Jung Soo, Keimyung University, highlighted the importance of natural resource security and shared his thoughts on Korea’s outlook for natural resource exploration and development. He suggested that Australia publicize its potential investment opportunities, especially for newly developed resources and mining firms, and to exchange information on investment projects related to Australia’s utility systems and infrastructure development.

Strengthening People-to-People Links
The final session focused on “Strengthening People-to-People Links,” in an effort to enhance soft power diplomacy. Professor Moon Kyounghee, Changwon National University, pointed to a serious imbalance in the number of students and working-holiday participants between the two countries, along with various suggestions to rectify this problem, such as the building up of alumni networks. Professor Ian Chubb, Australian National University, also acknowledged the significance of the current imbalance and stressed the importance of educational exchange to advance public diplomacy. He also emphasized the need for strong leadership at the national and local levels to correct the imbalance in people to people exchanges. Indeed, Korea’s profile among the younger generation in Australia needs to be heightened through expanded exchange of information and the concerted efforts of universities, industries, and governmental agencies, both in Australia and Korea. Russell Trood shared this view and suggested tourism promotional efforts for packaging Korea, together with China and Japan, in tours of the Asian region.
Professor Lee Chung Min called for more closely linking educational programs in Northeast Asia, including Korea, through active promotional measures, while Professor Kaye Basford, University of Queensland, suggested an expansion of student exchange programs at the post-graduate levels. Professor Seo Jung Soo addressed the significance of promoting Australian studies in Korea by creating financial assistance programs for the launch of Australia related courses at universities in Korea. He also proposed that Korea-Australia establish a formal student-exchange program for both educational and internship experiences, to which John Walker declared Macquarie’s interest of extending its support to such an initiative. Rowan Callick, Asia-Pacific Editor, the Australian and Son Hyunduck, Politics Editor, Maeil Business Newspaper concurred on the need for their respective media sectors to expand news coverage about each other in both countries. Professor Yun Byung-Se, Sogang University suggested that the commemorative efforts related to the 60th anniversary of the Korean War could serve as a significant first step in that direction.

The Dialogue gathering was a timely occasion to reflect upon Australia’s participation in the Korean War and the upcoming 50th anniversary of the establishment of Korea-Australia diplomatic relations, in 2011. Thanks to the earnest contributions of the participants, the event was also fruitful in advancing the cooperative relations of Korea and Australia. The Korea Foundation’s generous assistance for the Dialogue gathering is very much appreciated, along with the wonderful luncheon hosted by the Korea Foundation.

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