In March 2024, South Korea’s Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar held their 10th Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) in Seoul, marking the primary such gathering in virtually six years. Every week later, of their trilateral technology dialogue, the United States, South Korea, and India explored potentialities for collaboration in key rising know-how fields comparable to semiconductors, biotechnology, house, synthetic intelligence (AI), and quantum know-how. 

Together, these occasions mark a trajectory towards deeper strategic cooperation between South Korea and India within the Indo-Pacific period. Both nations have now gained vital momentum to bolster their bilateral partnership past the confines of their current particular strategic partnership, paving the best way for a brand new chapter that’s anticipated to endure for the subsequent 5 many years and past.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a bilateral summit on the event of the 2023 G-20 assembly, the place they evaluated the continued cooperation between the 2 nations, notably in superior manufacturing comparable to electrical autos. Acknowledging the rising significance of cooperation in key technological domains amongst nations that share widespread values, they agreed to additional broaden the scope of provide chain collaboration, particularly inside rising sectors comparable to IT and electronics.

In the present geopolitical surroundings, the Indo-Pacific area wants minilateral frameworks with like-minded nations for mutual considerations and aims. The determination to create this trilateral within the know-how area emerged from the inaugural South Korea-U.S. Next Generation Critical and Emerging Technologies Dialogue in Seoul held in December 2023. During a evaluation assembly, latest advances additionally noticed the United States and India broaden the scope of the India-U.S. Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET). Biotechnology, key minerals, processing strategies for uncommon earths, digital connectivity, digital public infrastructure, and progressive supplies have been among the many subjects mentioned. 

Shared values, together with a dedication to democracy and sustaining the rules-based worldwide order, kind the idea of the “defining partnership” between the United States and India. The U.S. is dedicated to supporting India’s rise to prominence as a significant world energy and considers India an vital accomplice in guaranteeing peace and stability within the Indo-Pacific area. The involvement of the U.S. and India within the Quad framework reveals the broader want for each nations to interact in such minilaterals and trilaterals for the safety of the Indo-Pacific area. 

In 2022, South Korea unveiled its new Indo-Pacific coverage, making it fairly evident that the nation desires to grow to be a “Global Pivotal State.” Seoul additionally goals to work with like-minded nations within the Indo-Pacific area and contribute to the peace and stability of the area. With South Korea being a key financial tiger in Asia, India is keen to enterprise into new fields comparable to important and rising applied sciences, semiconductors, inexperienced hydrogen, human useful resource mobility, nuclear cooperation, and provide chain resilience. 

Similar to India as a fulcrum of the Indo-Pacific rules-based order, South Korea too is cautious about China’s antagonistic response to the Quad. While South Korea isn’t a member, the four-nation group’s ongoing emphasis on subjects like infrastructure improvement, local weather change mitigation, pandemic management, and rising applied sciences aligns with Seoul’’s priorities. The U.S., India, and South Korea have converging pursuits of their Indo-Pacific methods involving potential avenues of cooperation. 

India contributes to the South Korea-U.S. alliance as a democracy with comparable aims regarding important and growing applied sciences. India’s growing home market, aspirations to grow to be a semiconductor pioneer, and relationship with South Korea as a regional accomplice with shared democratic and sovereign beliefs all play an element on this.

In India, the United States and Korea have teamed as much as pursue shared improvement aims, a significant partnership that was revealed in New Delhi. Their respective worldwide improvement organizations, USAID and KOICA, have formalized their relationship by a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to advance widespread world improvement aims. With the assistance of this MOU, USAID and KOICA will pool their sources and experience to handle important points in India, together with girls’s financial empowerment, catastrophe and local weather resilience, digital literacy, and opening up alternatives for trilateral cooperation with the Indian authorities. The alliance desires to advertise progressive collaborations, enhance native financial commerce, and provides new digital and entrepreneurial sources to assist native livelihoods. 

The new communication mechanism between the U.S., South Korea, and India is among the many first diplomatic agreements on know-how cooperation signed by New Delhi. India additionally takes half within the Quad’s collaboration on different applied sciences, comparable to 5G and 6G.

The trilateral know-how dialogue can have vital financial results. This alliance can rework the manufacturing panorama and foster employment progress in these nations by performing as a driving power behind enhancements within the world know-how markets. The mixed technological would possibly of India, South Korea, and the United States would possibly encourage the event of innovation hubs, improve exports, and enhance investments. 

The tech dialogue would possibly considerably affect the worldwide tech competitors. This collaboration might act as a restraint on China’s rising technological hegemony, particularly in areas like 5G and synthetic intelligence. 

To preserve a steadiness of energy and thwart China’s targets within the Indo-Pacific area, the United States, South Korea, India, and different nations anticipate that AI can be a key part of their protection and safety plans. Innovation and data-sharing within the AI house might assist these companions offset their rising fears about China’s navy would possibly. 

The trilateral cooperation on important and rising applied sciences is a vital and promising space for enhancing the bilateral relationship between India and South Korea. However, to strengthen strategic belief and evolve into true strategic companions within the Indo-Pacific, trilateral cooperation isn’t sufficient. Both South Korea and India should set up extra cooperative platforms in areas of mutual curiosity going ahead. 

For occasion, given the numerous curiosity each nations have within the protection business, there’s a urgent must method the enlargement of cooperation on this area extra vigorously. South Korea’s export of K-9 self-propelled howitzers to India and native manufacturing there are undoubtedly optimistic examples. Now is the time to broaden this scope and actively take into account cooperation between the 2 nations on maritime weapon platforms. 

Additionally, in response to rising maritime terrorism, piracy actions, unlawful fishing, and different safety threats within the Indian Ocean area, it’s worthwhile for each nations to not solely make the most of current regional multilateral platforms comparable to IORA and IONS to enhance cooperation on maritime security and maritime area consciousness, but additionally take into account joint bilateral workout routines. Such maritime safety cooperation isn’t solely important for India, as a web safety supplier within the Indian Ocean, but additionally holds important advantages for South Korea, which holds a strategic curiosity within the Indian Ocean as an important sea line of communications.

The three nations ought to additional work on fortifying their partnership to guard their pursuits and preserve the rules-based worldwide order within the Indo-Pacific area. A trilateral dialogue between India, the U.S., and South Korea ensures equal stakes and obligations in technology-sharing with out the added burden of requiring India to surrender a few of its conventional coverage independence. 

In addition to constructing a robust worldwide know-how infrastructure and funding mannequin to assist innovation and the well being of the financial system, the alliance ought to search to work collectively on the accountable use of AI in surveillance and intelligence sharing to benefit from this trilateral know-how dialogue. By establishing widespread information safety requirements, this partnership would additionally acquire from enhancing cybersecurity infrastructure and bolstering provide chain resilience.