Why China will see India’s latest defence deal with South Korea as ‘inevitably sensitive’
After Lee Jae Myung’s recent visit to New Delhi touting expanded bilateral cooperation, Beijing is likely to be uneasy, analysts say
China would see India’s attempt to expand defence industry cooperation with South Korea in artillery and anti-aircraft guns as “inevitably sensitive” given Beijing’s border dispute with New Delhi in the Himalayas, according to analysts.
Lee said South Korea fully backed India’s “Atmanirbhar Bharat” or self-reliant India policy and hoped to “actively” support the production and operation of Indian defence equipment and discuss cooperation such as in technology development.
He cited the K9 Thunder, a South Korean howitzer, as an example of the two countries’ defence cooperation.
Delhi operates about 100 of the K9 Vajra-T 155mm self-propelled howitzer units and plans to acquire 100 more.
The K9 Vajra-T is made in India and based on South Korea’s K9 Thunder design. Its system was produced through a technology transfer from Hanwha Aerospace and optimised for the Indian Army’s desert and high-altitude environments.