Southeast Asia favors Korean weapons

HANH NGUYEN (According to SCMP)

South Korea is shaping up as a new arms supplier to Southeast Asian countries, as the region increasingly craves modern, affordable military equipment.

Malaysian officials and leaders of Korea Aerospace Industries at the signing ceremony of the agreement to purchase 18 FA-50 fighters on May 23. Photo: Yonhap

The Malaysian Ministry of Defense has just signed an agreement to purchase weapons from Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) worth 2.28 billion USD, including 18 FA-50 light attack aircraft.

The deal was “closed” after the Philippines and Indonesia became two of the largest arms importers of South Korea, accounting for 16% and 14% of total exports, respectively. According to the announcement of the South Korean Ministry of National Defense, the country’s arms sales increased from 7.25 billion USD in 2021 to more than 17 billion USD in 2022, amid the West rushing to provide weapons to Ukraine and rising tensions in other hot spots such as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the South China Sea. The war in Ukraine and disputes with China in the South China Sea have prompted Southeast Asian countries to actively purchase weapons.

Trusted partner

South Korea has become an attractive option for Southeast Asian countries because, unlike other powers, Seoul is willing to transfer technology to support the development of domestic arms industries in the region, according to Dr. Ian Storey of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) in Singapore. “South Korean weapons are more modern and cheaper than Western military equipment,” Mr. Storey said, adding that Seoul’s defense companies will continue to expand their market share in Southeast Asia.

For their part, countries here see South Korea as a reliable partner, according to Jaehyon Lee, a Southeast Asia expert at the ASAN Institute for Policy Studies (South Korea). “Seoul’s arms exports in recent years have leaned more towards a commercial approach than a strategic approach,” Dr. Lee shared, adding that the US mainly focuses on selling modern and expensive weapons that are not really needed in Southeast Asian countries.

For example, the KFX fighter, a project to develop a new generation fighter between KAI and Indonesia, is a low-cost alternative to the US-made F-35. Meanwhile, the FA-50 aircraft costs about $50 million per unit, only half the price of equivalent European and American fighters. It is known that developing countries have long wanted to buy defense equipment that can be compatible with Western systems and weapons, but major Western manufacturers have largely ignored this request.

In addition, under President Yoon Suk-yeol's Korea-Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Solidarity Initiative, defense technology cooperation and arms trade are high on the government 's agenda. Korean companies are also ready to respond to requests from Southeast Asian countries.

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, South Korea is currently the third largest arms supplier to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and its member states, accounting for 4.9% of their purchases. However, this figure is still far behind the United States (65%) and France (8.6%).

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