India and the Republic of Korea
Author: Skand R Tayal
Publisher: Routledge, Rs676
Students and researchers of international relations specialising in East Asia, as well as foreign policy practitioners from these regions will benefit from this book, says Pranamita Baruah
Over the years, several academicians and analysts have dealt with the subject of India-South Korea relations. Unfortunately, their number is far from encouraging. In fact the absence of books or articles to look at the relationship in a comprehensive manner is clearly noticeable. This book authored by former Indian ambassador to South Korea, Skand R Tayal, offers a fresh insight into the bilateral relationship between the two Asian democracies. This book is important as it is largely based on the author’s own experience in the process of deepening New Delhi-Seoul relations while serving as the Head of India’s Mission in Seoul. Another significant aspect of this book is that it provides valuable insight regarding how the relationship has developed and prospered since the ancient times till today.
It is neatly divided into twelve chapters, each dealing with New Delhi-Seoul relationship within a specific time frame/period. In the first chapter, the author throws some light on the historical perspective of the relationship. He discusses how the people of Korea were aware of the existence of ‘Bharatvarsh’ even before the arrival of Buddhism. He also talks about the initial relationship developed between the two civilisations through the marriage between king Suro of Kaya kingdom (in Korea) and princess Heo of Ayodhya.
The second and third chapters of the book deal with India-South Korea relations in the pre-war and post war era. Two prominent leaders of India’s freedom struggle — Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru — were highly inspired by the Korean struggle against Japanese imperialism. Gandhi’s peaceful freedom struggle was closely studied by many Korean scholars. The popularity of Rabindranath Tagore’s works in Korea seemed to bring the two countries closer culturally. However in the wake of the Korean War, even though India declared North Korea as the aggressor and extended support for military assistance to South Korea, New Delhi’s policy of equidistance between the two Koreas were resented by Seoul. In the fourth chapter, the author argues that during 1953-1972, ideological differences and the two countries’ deep engagement in their own nation-building process proved to be major deterrents in deepening the bilateral ties.
The normalisation of relations between the US and the Peoples’ Republic of China brought about a dramatic change in the political situation of the Korean Penisula pushing both the Koreas to reshape their hostile policies towards each other. The fifth chapter thus offers an in-depth analysis of the political developments in early 1970s that pushed India-South Korea to enhance interaction.
The sixth and seventh chapters deal with the relationship in the post Cold War period.
During 2003-2012, the commencement of South Korea’s POSCO steel project in Orissa and the promotion of bilateral trade, joint ventures, etc clearly indicated vibrancy in India-South Korea relations. However Delhi and Seoul scaled new heights in February 2006 with their decision to set up a Joint Task Force to develop a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). South Korean President lee Myung-bak’s state visit to Delhi in January 2010 led to the elevation of the relationship to a ‘Strategic Partnership’. Around the same time, the bilateral Foreign Policy and Security Dialogue (initiated in 2005) was raised from the joint secretary/director general level to the level of the vice-minister of foreign affairs/secretary (East). The exchange of parliamentary delegates between the two countries added a new dimension to the bilateral political ties.
Defence and security cooperation between the two countries also started evolving. In September 2005, the two Ministries of Defence signed an MoU on cooperation in Defence Industry and logistics. In the subsequent years, the Coast Guards and navies of the two countries have carried out several joint exercises. Defence cooperation however received a boost in September 2010 with the singing of two agreements — one on defence cooperation and the other on defence R&D between India’s DRDO and South Korea’s DAPA. The signing of Civil Nuclear Agreement between India and South Korea in July 2011 seemed to provide momentum to their multifaceted strategic partnership. And in November 2012, as India’s first defence attaché opened the military wing in the Indian Embassy in Seoul, this added another dimension to the bilateral security cooperation.
The author argues that the bilateral relationship has witnessed tremendous growth due to lack of historical baggage. Moreover factors like their common apprehension over the rise of China and the growing India-US strategic ties have brought New Delhi-Seoul seem to have also brought them closer. He lists out a number of factors that have restrained the two counties from taking the relationship to a greater height. In this context, Seoul’s opposition to the increase of permanent membership in the UN Security Council (unlike India); South Korea’s restricted market access due to closed corporate culture and regulations favouring domestic producers; the inordinate delay in giving approval for import of Indian agricultural products; non-inclusion of India in the employment permit scheme for temporary jobs or Indian skilled workers in Korea; etc. can be cited. However in the coming years, as the strategic partnership matures, the two countries might be able to overcome many of these obstacles. In the areas of space research, nuclear energy, counter-terrorism, drug trafficking, safety of sea lines of communication (SlOC), containment of North Korea’s nuclear programme, etc. India and South Korea have convergence of interest which needs to be harnessed.
The book is lucidly written and is proof of scholarly toil. However some information seem to be repetitive. Curiously the book does not deal exclusively with the prospect of India-South Korea defence and security cooperation in a separate chapter. Although a short section in the chapter seven discusses about defence cooperation, it is not sufficient to understand why it is vital for both the countries to cooperate in the non-traditional security front and how they can go about it. Students and researchers of international relations (particularly those specialising on East Asia) as well as foreign policy practitioners from these regions will be benefitted by this book.
The reviewer is a researcher at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA)