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The security agreement is the largest between Australia and Asia, and its signing took place during a visit by South Korean President Moon Jae-in to the Australian capital, Canberra.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and South Korean President Moon Jae-in have signed a $ 680m security agreement.
At a cost of about $ 1 billion in Australia, the agreement was signed on Monday during Moon’s four-day trip to Canberra. The president of South Korea is the first foreign leader to travel to Australia since the outbreak began.
The new security alliance will see South Korean security company Hanwha provide the Australian military with weapons, armored vehicles and radar.
It is the largest security agreement that has taken place between Australia and Asia, and comes at a time when tensions are rising between Australia and China.
Australia recently announced an agreement to build a nuclear submarine in the alliance, called AUKUS, with the United States and the United Kingdom – which China has strongly opposed.
Morrison said the new security agreement will create about 300 jobs in Australia, where Hanwha’s division operates.
“The agreement we signed today, I think, says a lot about what we believe is the potential of Korean security companies,” he said.
“It is another important part of Australian security as we continue to develop our independence skills and Korea and its key ally in the journey – in preparing our security, and in building our independence in security.”
Moon said South Korea has a similar Australian attitude towards the world and said his visit to Canberra “is critical to Korea’s national interests and promotes peace and development in the region”.
But he also said that South Korea’s relationship with China is crucial, especially in the pursuit of peace with North Korea.
“As a result, South Korea is focused on a stable relationship with the US and China,” Moon said. “We want a cohesive relationship.”
The Canberra ambassador told an ABC reporter that the South Korean president saw fit to travel to Australia to strengthen ties even though China could.
“At the end of his one-year tenure and in the midst of the epidemic, it should be important to show support and comfort with Australian membership in Quad’s partnership with AUKUS,” said Bill Paterson, a. a former ambassador who served as an Australian ambassador to Seoul until 2016.
“[The] The Korean people have obviously seen that they want to send a positive signal to Australia wisely and economically – and they are ready to take action on the risk. ”
Australian Defense Minister Peter Dutton said his government was committed to the region’s security, and the new agreement would help change the Australian military.
“The biggest potential for new vehicles is to burn and drive faster, to avoid confrontation with enemies,” Dutton said. “This project will mean a significant increase in the firefighting capacity and security of Australian weapons.”
South Korea is Australia’s fourth largest trading partner and the fourth largest export market under the free trade agreement that has been in place since 2014.
This year marks the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
In their discussions, Morrison and Moon agreed to elevate relations between their countries to become “full alliances”.
The leaders also said they would work together to develop clean energy technologies, combine hydrogen, and support the supply of essential minerals, which Australia has in abundance.
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