Indian Council of World Affairs

On 29-30 May, 2023, South Korea hosted the inaugural Korea- Pacific Islands Summit 2023 in Seoul marking it as the first multilateral summit to be held in the Republic of Korea under the Yoon administration. It was attended by the Heads of State of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) members and the Secretary General of the PIF. The Summit was co-hosted by President Yoon Suk-yeol and Mark Brown, the Prime Minister of the Cook Islands, as the Cook Islands assumes the chairmanship of the PIF. The theme of the Summit was "Navigating towards Co-Prosperity: Strengthening Cooperation with the Blue Pacific" aimed at creating a synergy between the PIF’s 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent and Korea’s Indo-Pacific Strategy to further mutual development goals.^[i]

It was during the 5^th Korea-Pacific Islands Foreign Ministers' Meeting in 2022, that the Ministers agreed to elevate their relations to the Summit level in 2023.^[ii] The South Korean government views this Summit as an opportunity to strengthen its strategic partnership with the PICs as a part of its Indo-Pacific Strategy released in December 2022.

Korea- PICs ties

Historically, South Korea’s engagement with the region dates back to the 1970s when Korea established diplomatic relations with Tonga, Fiji and Samoa. Eventually in 1995, Korea became a Dialogue Partner of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) and maintained close partnership and engagement with the PIF members. Since 2008, Korea’s funding to the region in varied areas of cooperation increased with the establishment of the Korea-PIF Cooperation Fund.^[iii] The Korea-Pacific Islands Foreign Ministers’ Meeting has been held on regular intervals since 2011 as a major high-level consultative body to expand strategic discourse between Korea and Pacific Islands on areas of common interest - Climate change, fisheries, cultural exchanges and development cooperation. More recently Seoul has been reaching out to these small island countries to garner a greater role in the South Pacific. With the release of the Indo-Pacific Strategy in December last year, Korea is looking to be on track to address its ‘strategic ambiguity’^[iv] in the context of US-China rivalry. Korea’s Indo-Pacific Strategy declared its ambition in “increasing the engagement with the Pacific Island Countries with whom Korea shares the Pacific Ocean.”^[v] The Strategy aims to realise the vision of Korea as ‘a Global Pivotal State’ through expanding its diplomatic outreach beyond the Korean peninsula and northeast Asia to the Indo-Pacific region.

The Summit can be seen as a major diplomatic step forward, and it comes as President Yoon pledges to foster “a free, peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific” in the light of emerging challenges from climate change to China’s growing military leverage in the region. Moreover, on the sidelines of the Summit, Korea and Niue formalised diplomatic ties thus forming diplomatic relations with all the 14 PICs.

South Korea is strategically and economically important for the PICs. Korea's economic development and technological expertise could provide valuable support for the PICs as they seek to enhance their economic growth and development. Korea’s democracy and dynamic economy with expertise in fisheries, technological research and sustainable tourism could be beneficial for the overall development needs of the PICs. South Korea is also a leading power in harnessing and preserving renewable energy, which aligns with the sustainability-centred goals of the PICs. In this regard, Seoul has undertaken several such projects in the region. For instance, in 2019, Korea’s Seoul National University built a rainwater harvesting facility in collaboration with the Vanuatu government to address the island nation's drinking water problem.^[vi] Increasing engagement with Korea also provides an alternative partnership for the PICs in addition to their traditional partners in order to position themselves amid the regional power competition for strategic influence.^[vii] 

For Korea, the strategic location of these island countries with large EEZs and rich marine resources carry huge economic potential. The islands of the Pacific Ocean have the world’s largest tuna fishery.^[viii] Several Korean licensed fishing vessels have been deployed in the EEZs of the region since tuna is the major seafood export of Korea by value and volume.^[ix] Moreover, despite their small size and population, Pacific islands have a significant voice at international forums, their support and votes can influence the trajectory of global politics.

Summit Key Takeaways

The issues of climate change, investment and sustainable fisheries were on the top agenda at the Seoul Summit. At the end of the Korea-Pacific Islands Summit, a joint declaration on ‘A Partnership in Pursuit of Freedom, Peace and Prosperity for a Resilient Pacific’ was released on May 29, 2023. For long-term cooperation, Korea and PIF leaders agreed to strengthen their diplomatic relations and security cooperation to promote maritime security, energy security, and sustainable management of fisheries in the EEZs in accordance with international law. The PIF leaders expressed their support to Korea acknowledging North Korea’s nuclear programs as a major threat to the Korean peninsula as well as global security. Korea agreed to double its development assistance to the region by 2027 and expand the ROK-PIF Cooperation Fund (RPCF) along with additional funding to develop security cooperation through “tailored cooperation projects” as per the needs of the PICs.  The PIF leaders supported ROK’s bid to host the World Expo 2030 in Busan and its candidature for the UN Security Council’s non-permanent membership for 2024-25 term.[x]

Post the Seoul summit, Prime Minister of Solomon Islands, Manasseh Sogavare released a statement expressing his dissent over an element of the outcome declaration that relates to expanding “the nexus between the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent and Korea’s Indo-Pacific Strategy between the Pacific Islands Forum and Korea, as key partners to effectively address global challenges and co-prosper”.[xi] He stated that Solomon Islands does not support interpreting the 2050 Strategy of the Blue Pacific Continent from “another external framework” as it goes against the principle of collective action and regionalism.^[xii] However, other PIF members had a positive outlook towards the Summit.

Road Ahead

Under the Yoon administration, Korea has been proactively engaged in enhancing its positioning in the region by aligning itself with the current regional geopolitics. Korea views intensifying US-China competition in the region, as a major security challenge for Seoul, as stated in its recently released National Security Strategy in June 2023. In this regard, Korea has adopted a more pragmatic and balanced approach in the region by establishing stronger relations with the PICs through its action-oriented plans aimed at addressing the prime concerns of the Pacific islands.

The Summit is in line with Korea’s Indo-Pacific strategy and promotes a broad agenda that emphasises upon democracy and sustainable development. It indicates a potential shift in Korea's regional approach, to renew its focus on the "Pacific" dimension of the region and to elevate its diplomatic presence in the region. In order to compensate for its absence from regional minilaterals like QUAD, South Korea’s Pacific Island Summit could be a positive step to present itself as a credible development partner in the region and strengthen its role as a middle power. The future focus of South Korea’s Pacific diplomacy depends on how effectively it maximises the effectiveness of this multilateral diplomacy.

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*Tarveen Kaur, Research Intern, Indian Council of World Affairs, New Delhi
Disclaimer: Views expressed are personal.

Endnotes

[i] 2023 Korea-Pacific Islands Summit, https://2023rokpisummit.kr/?menuno=3, Accessed on 5 June 2023

[ii] About Summit,  https://2023Koreapisummit.kr/?menuno=5, Accessed on 3 June 2023

[iii] Korea and Pacific Islands, https://2023Koreapisummit.kr/?menuno=69, Accessed on 6 June 2023

[iv] Kwon Mee-yoo, Yoon signals end to Korea's strategic ambiguity in US-China rivalry, Korea Times, 14 November 2022, https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2022/12/113_339739.html, Accessed on 3 June 2023

[v] Korea-Pacific Islands Relations, https://2023Koreapisummit.kr/?menuno=7,Accessed on 8 June 2023

[vi] Chae Hyun Kim, Converting Rainwater into Drinking Water: SNU Builds Rainwater-Harvesting Facility in Vanuatu, https://en.snu.ac.kr/snunow/snu_media/news?md=v&bbsidx=126108, Accessed on 3 June 2023

[vii] Joanne Wallis and Jiye Kim, Why did South Korea invite Pacific leaders to a summit, and why did they go?, 31 May 2023, https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/why-did-south-korea-invite-pacific-leaders-to-a-summit-and-why-did-they-go/, Accessed on 2 June 2023

[viii] Majuro, Managing the world’s largest tuna fishery, 10 August 2018, https://www.spc.int/updates/blog/2018/08/managing-the-worlds-largest-tuna-fishery#:~:text=The%20Pacific%20Ocean%20represents%2048,such%20as%20marlin%20and%20swordfish, Accessed on 16 June 2023

[ix]  South Korea’s Largest Seafood Industry Players Come Together to Support Sustainable Tuna, 28 June  2022, https://www.oceanoutcomes.org/news/korea-tuna-sustainability-industy-roundtable-meeting/, Accessed on 16 June 2023

[x]  REPORT: Declaration and Action Plan of the 1st Korea-Pacific Leaders’ Summit, 2023, https://www.forumsec.org/2023/05/29/report-declaration-and-action-plan-of-the-1st-korea-pacific-leaders-summit-2023/#:~:text=The%20first%20Korea%2DPacific%20Islands,Korea)%20on%2029%20May%202023, Accessed on 20
June 2023

[xi] ibid

[xii] Solomon Islands distance itself from Korea - Pacific Islands Forum Summit Declaration, 05 June 2023, http://www.mfaet.gov.sb/media-center/press-releases/foreign-affairs-news/504-solomon-islands-distance-itself-from-korea-pacific-islands-forum-summit-declaration.html, Accessed on 9 June 2023