Australia signs defence deal with South Korea after diplomatic boycott of Beijing Olympics

Australia and South Korea signed a $717 million defence deal on Monday as South Korean President Moon Jae-in visited Australia. He is the first foreign leader to visit Australia since the pandemic broke out. According to ANI, the decision of the Australian Prime Minister to sign the largest defence deal with South Korea instead of China might annoy Chinese authorities. 

As per ANI, the new deal signed between Canberra and Seoul indicates that Moon Jae-in intends to further strengthen the country's ties with Australia. According to the agreement, the South Korean defence company Hanwha will supply cutting edge artillery weapons, supply vehicles and radars to Australian armed forces. Furthermore, Morrison and Moon have vowed to increase the official status of their relations to a “comprehensive strategic partnership."

The outcomes of recent meetings between South Korean leaders and their Chinese and Australian counterparts indicate that even though Seoul has trade ties with China, however, it intends to keep ties with American allies on security, ANI reported citing Taiwan News. The agreement signed between Moon Jae-in and Scott Morrison is the largest ever defence deal between Australia and an Asian nation. However, it is reported that the decision of the two countries might not be well received by Chinese authorities. The defence deal between Australia and South Korea comes at a time of increased tensions between Canberra and China. 

Australia-China relations 

The defence deal comes just months after Australia signed the trilateral security pact ‘AUKUS’ with the United States and the United Kingdom in September. After the announcement of the agreement, the Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian termed the security partnership of Australia with the UK and US as “extremely irresponsible,” reported Sky News Australia. Furthermore, he blamed Australia for its strained ties with Beijing. 

Recently, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics scheduled to be organised in Beijing in 2022. China has lashed out at Australia for following US suit in announcing a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics. China alleged that Canberra’s decision of diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics as opposed to the nation’s official position to improve their ties with Beijing. Furthermore, the Chinese Embassy in Australia blamed the current situation of ties between Australia and Beijing on Canberra.

Criticising the decision, the Chinese embassy in Canberra said, “As we all know, the blame for the current predicament of China-Australia relations lies squarely on the Australian side. China once again urges the Australian side to take practical measures to create favourable conditions for improving bilateral relations.”

(Inputs from ANI)