Publication alert | Need for defence and security cooperation between Australia and South Korea greater than ever, experts agree

In November 2024, the United States Studies Centre (USSC) at the University of Sydney and the Embassy of the Republic of Korea hosted a Track 1.5 dialogue on Security Cooperation in Canberra with more than 50 government officials and researchers from both countries.

Authors Research Fellow Tom Corben and Research Associates Esther Soulard and Kester Abbott captured the key findings from these discussions in a new outcomes report, Australia-Republic of Korea Dialogue on Security Cooperation.

USSC Director of Foreign Policy and Defence Professor Peter Dean led a delegation to the Republic of Korea after the dialogue and was there in December 2024 when martial law was declared. He said, “Witnessing the political crisis unfold in Seoul immediately after the Track 1.5 Dialogue underscored the growing need to deepen bilateral security exchanges between experts and officials from our two countries.”

The dialogue underscored the need to translate the strong institutional and legal architecture underpinning the Australia-South Korea relationship into concrete defence and security cooperation in the wider region. While participants voiced a range of views on China’s growing maritime coercion, the deepening relationship between Russia and North Korea, and the unpredictability of the second Trump administration, they all agreed that greater collaboration, including through minilateral security groupings, will be essential to managing these challenges.

“Some forms of Australia-South Korea cooperation, like on defence industry and technology, face strong headwinds, but concerted efforts to work through these issues will be worthwhile for both countries,” Professor Dean concluded.

• View or download the report

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