Kang Shin-chul works the Cebu sidelines to sell Korean arms to India, Malaysia and the Philippines

South Korean Defence Minister Kang Shin-chul held a run of bilateral meetings with his Malaysian, Indian and Philippine counterparts on Wednesday, 28 October, on the sidelines of the 13th ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting-Plus in the Philippines, according to accounts released through South Korea's Ministry of National Defense. The meetings were his first outing on a multilateral security stage since taking office, and arms exports ran through all three.

Kang also met Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles the same day. In each meeting he briefed his counterpart on North Korea's mine explosion near the Demilitarised Zone in September and on deepening military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow, and called for international coordination in response.

India: follow-up on K9 and Biho

With Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Kang reviewed progress since the two ministers met in Seoul in May. They agreed to widen high-level exchanges, maritime security cooperation and combined training, and Kang said the two sides would make fuller use of their regular consultation bodies to develop defence cooperation.

Kang asked Singh to give his attention to further work on the K9 self-propelled howitzer, which the South Korean side described as proven in Indian service, and on the Biho self-propelled anti-aircraft system, so that defence-industry cooperation could grow.

Indian accounts of the meeting were more general. Singh described the talks as productive, and the discussion was reported to have covered expanding defence ties, co-developing military technology and Indo-Pacific stability. No new agreement or procurement deal was announced.

Malaysia and the Philippines

With Malaysian Defence Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin, Kang discussed military exchanges under the two countries' memorandum of understanding on defence and defence-industry cooperation, and went over progress in carrying out the FA-50 light attack aircraft export contract signed in 2023. Kang proposed widening cooperation into combined training and personnel exchanges, and Khaled signalled that Malaysia was willing to take part.

Kang's last meeting was with Philippine Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, whose country holds the ASEAN chair this year. Kang congratulated him on the chairmanship and said he wanted to raise the Korea-ASEAN security partnership to a higher level. The two ministers agreed to work closely so that South Korean defence firms can take part in Philippine military modernisation programmes built around naval and air force weapons systems.

Australia: localisation and advanced technology

In the meeting with Marles, Kang praised cooperation that already spans combined exercises, high-level exchanges and defence exports. Marles stressed the need for closer security cooperation to keep the region stable and agreed that defence-industry ties, including localised production, should keep developing. The two sides agreed to extend their cooperation into advanced capabilities and technology.

Why it matters

The forum ran from 28 to 29 October in the Philippines and brought ASEAN members together with eight dialogue partners, including India and South Korea. For Seoul, the round of meetings combined two aims: keeping its partners focused on the military threat from North Korea and its alignment with Russia, and lining up follow-on business for Korean weapons already sold to India and Malaysia, along with a role for Korean firms in Philippine military modernisation.