South Korean and Chinese defense chiefs will hold bilateral talks on the sidelines of a major international security forum, Seoul’s Defense Ministry announced Thursday.

The meeting comes as South Korea’s newly inaugurated Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup is set to make his international debut at the Shangri-La Dialogue Asian security summit to be held in Singapore from June 10 to 12.

China’s minister of national defense and state councilor, Wei Fenghe, will also participate in the event and give a speech on China’s vision for regional order in the Asia-Pacific, the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the host of the forum, announced this week.

The rare bilateral meeting will be held at a sensitive time when the Yoon Suk-yeol government has sought to strengthen the South Korea-US combined defense posture and better align its regional policy with the Biden administration’s Indo-Pacific strategy.

Seoul and Washington pledged to reinforce the US’ extended deterrence and step up combined military exercises against North Korea’s mounting missile and nuclear threats after the summit on May 21.

The Yoon government also aims to ensure the full-capacity operation of a military base that hosts the US-made Terminal High Altitude Area Defense interceptor system at an early date, which will irk China.

Also noteworthy, the defense ministerial meeting between Seoul and Beijing will take place as North Korea has been reportedly gearing up for a seventh nuclear test.

But South Korea’s Defense Ministry on Thursday explained that the two countries still need to continue the discussion on the schedule and specific agenda topics for the meeting, which will be held for the first time in two years and seven months.

The South Korean and Chinese defense chiefs last met in November 2019 on the occasion of the Sixth ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting Plus held in Bangkok, Thailand.

South Korea’s Defense Ministry announced the plan for the high-level meeting after virtually holding working-level defense talks between South Korea and China in the morning.

The Defense Ministry’s Director-General for International Affairs Kim Sang-jin and his Chinese counterpart, Song Yanchao, attended the 20th round of bilateral policy consultations as representatives. The previous meeting was held in March 2021.

Both sides exchanged views on the security situation on the Korean Peninsula and other issues of mutual interest and discussed ways to boost military exchanges and cooperation, according to South Korea’s Defense Ministry.

“Both sides shared the view to developing practical cooperation based on the mutual respect between South Korea and China and committed to enhancing the trust relationship between the military of the two countries through high-level communication as well as exchanges and cooperation in the defense field,” the ministry said in a statement.

During the working-level talks, Seoul and Beijing particularly agreed to expeditiously set up more military hotlines between their air forces and navies and operate the direct communication lines to prevent incidents and manage crisis situations. 

Seoul and Beijing have three existing hotlines -- one between their defense ministries and two between their air forces and navies.

Meanwhile, the South Korean defense chief is also expected to have his first face-to-face meeting with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue. 

The trilateral defense ministerial meeting among South Korea, the US, and Japan will likely be held whereas separate bilateral talks between South Korea’s and Japan’s defense leaders are less likely.

(dagyumji@heraldcorp.com)