Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

During ROK-China defense ministerial talks,

two ministers agree to boost bilateral exchanges, including pushing forward with a mutual ministerial visit;

ROK naval and air forces launch new hotlines with the naval and air forces of the Eastern Theater Command of China

During talks with his Chinese counterpart Wei Fenghe (魏鳳和) on June 10, Minister of National Defense Lee Jong-seop stressed that “the Republic of Korea (ROK) and China need to work together to make North Korea understand that the benefits that it can get from abandoning nuclear arms outweigh the costs of possessing nuclear arms.”

The ministry said in a statement on Friday that “While participating in the 19th Asia Security Summit, Minister Lee held separate ROK-China defense ministerial talks at the request of Minister Wei.”

The ROK-China defense ministerial talks were the first ones held in about two and a half years after the holding of the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM-plus) in November 2019. At the meeting, Lee expressed his serious concerns about the security situation on the Korean Peninsula following North Korea’s consecutive provocations, and called on China to “play a constructive role” in resolving the issue.

In response, Wei said “China has maintained that its goal is to maintain peace on and achieve the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. The ROK and China will work together to address the Korean Peninsula issues, as our two countries share an understanding of the issues.”

Marking the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the ROK and China, Lee also stressed the need for the two countries to strengthen their existing cooperation while finding new areas in which to work together based on a principle of mutual respect and common interests. In response, Wei said that he shared this view, and hoped to further boost bilateral ties by expanding exchanges between the defense ministries and armed services of the two countries.

The two sides agreed to push forward visits between the defense ministers of the ROK and China, and boost bilateral exchanges for the defense ministries and armed services of the two countries, including through a vice defense ministerial strategy dialogue.

Significantly, the two ministers placed great weight on the official launch of a new hotline between the naval and air force forces, which was agreed upon with the revision of a ‘memorandum of understanding on hotlines between naval and air forces of ROK and China’ in 2021. Having operated hotlines only with the naval and air forces of Northern Theater Command of China, the ROK naval and air forces confirmed on Friday the launch of additional hotlines with the naval and air forces of the Eastern Theater Command of China on that day.

“The two ministers assess that the existing hotlines between the two countries and the newly launched hotlines between the naval and air forces of the two countries will greatly contribute to preventing accidental clashes between our militaries,” an official from the ministry said in a statement. “Lee stressed that the government’s Indo-Pacific strategy stands for ‘rules-based international order,’ and will not hinder the interests of China,” the official added.

By Chul-Hwan, Kim < droid001@dema.mil.kr >

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