Page 189 - 2018 Defense White Paper

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defense exchanges and cooperation, for example, organizing the 16 Defense Policy Talks in
May 2018. During the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) in October
2018, the Defense Ministers of the ROK and China convened bilateral talks and agreed not only
to bolster trust between the two countries but also pursue defense exchanges and cooperation in

a more substantive manner by vitalizing senior off icial exchanges and exchanges among military
units as well as installing additional hotlines between the air forces through the resumption of
working-level air defense talks.

The ROK and China had exchanges in diverse areas in the past, including the senior off icials,
such as ministers and vice ministers of defense as well as JCS chairmen; regular meetings, such
as defense strategic dialogues and defense policy talks; exchanges among military units; and

the repatriation of Chinese soldiers’ remains. Their exchange activities also included academic
conferences jointly organized by the two countries’ military research institutes, mutual education
exchanges by respective education institutes, and sports exchanges.
The ROK and China are currently discussing the resumption of working-level air defense

talks that have been on hiatus since 2013 to prevent possible airborne collisions that can be
caused by Chinese military aircraft’s ingress into the Korea Air Defense Identif ication Zone

(KADIZ). The two countries are also discussing the resumption of Vice Minister defense
strategic dialogues and the installation of additional hotlines between their navies. Chapter 5
Looking forward, the ROK and China will strive to contribute to peace and stability on the
Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia by continuously strengthening strategic communication;

vitalizing defense exchanges and cooperation at various levels and in diverse f ields in order to
reinforce their “strategic cooperative partnership” substantively.

| Defense Exchanges and Cooperation with
Japan | The ROK and Japan are geographically
and culturally close neighbors as well as partners

cooperating for global peace and prosperity.
The ROK and Japan have regularly held
bilateral Defense Ministerial Meetings since
ROK–Japan Defense Ministerial Talks (October 2018)
1994, and established the foundation for defense
exchanges and cooperation in 2009 by signing the Letter of Intent on Defense Exchanges
between the ROK and Japan at the 14 Defense Ministerial Meeting. Following the ROK–Japan
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Section 3 Expansion of Defense Exchanges and Cooperation 187