Hanwha Aerospace's K9 self-propelled howitzer / Courtesy of Hanwha Aerospace
China would see India's attempt to expand defense 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.
After meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday as part of his three-day visit to India, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung announced that Seoul and Delhi had agreed to upgrade their economic cooperation, focusing on vital sectors such as shipbuilding, defense and artificial intelligence.
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 defense 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' defense 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 optimized for the Indian Army's desert and high-altitude environments.
The Indian Army has deployed the howitzers in the country's northern Ladakh region, aiming to boost long-range firepower amid India's border tensions with China and Pakistan.
According to the Times of India newspaper, Periasamy Kumaran of Delhi's Ministry of External Affairs said on Monday during Lee's visit that India sought to expand defense industry cooperation with South Korea into a "third phase".
Moving beyond direct acquisition and progressive localization of the K9 howitzers, India would go "even further" with advanced manufacturing and technology transfer, Kumaran said.
Source: Korea Times News
