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The Korea-Australia Free Trade Agreement and Its Security Implications
Abstract
This article surveys the security implications of the Korea-Australia Free Trade Agreement. It does so by exploring the extent to which any such accord provides the basis for favorable political and security relationships between countries. The negative impact of asymmetrical commercial interdependence between countries can be offset by the nature of their diplomatic relationship. This is particularly the case for the relationship between Korea and Australia given Australia's close security relations with a United States that is firmly committed to defending South Korea in any future inter-Korean conflict. The security ties between the two countries therefore constitute an important prerequisite for the positive security externalities of economic interdependence through close bilateral commercial ties. The policy implication of this situation is that both Australia and the Republic of Korea will pursue economic as well as security cooperation, as both are mutually reinforcing. By doing so, the two countries could reduce any relative gain problem and maximize the positive security effects of commercial ties.
During the South Korean president’s state visit to Australia in December 2021, the Australian Government and in turn the Australian media sustained a narrative that the two countries held ‘common strategic interests’. Over the past ten years, the notion of common strategic interests became a ‘naturalized narrative’ in Australia – a narrative, which through entrenched repetition becomes both natural and inevitable to such an extent that counter-narratives are seen as counterintuitive and open to ridicule.
This study investigates the common strategic interests narrative. It first explores the bilateral relationship and the narrative gap that occurred during the president’s visit. It then turns to the use of language and narrative in bilateral relationships. It looks at how the constituent components supporting the common strategic interests narrative are contextualized and how this impacts the political action of Australia and Korea.
The study finds that the common strategic interests narrative does not cross the linguistic-cultural divide in the Australia-Korea bilateral relationship. The article concludes with policy recommendations. Australia needs to pay more attention to building policy relevance and education links in South Korea.
Australia and South Korea inaugurated FTA negotiations in June 2009. After almost five years of talks, the two countries struck a free-trade deal in December 2013. The Korea-Australia Free Trade Agreement (KAFTA) negotiations began with the Australian Labor Party Government under Kevin Rudd and did not conclude until the Liberal Party Government of Tony Abbott. This paper explores Australia-South Korea FTA negotiations under the premise that the converging foreign policy orientations focusing on Asian regionalism under Australian Labor Party Governments and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak brought about the inauguration of their bilateral FTA negotiations. It begins by examining each country’s approach to rising China and the acceleration of Asian economic integration. It then highlights their perceptions of each other and their economic interactions, identifies their converging national interests, goals and regional diplomatic demarches, and finally explores the driving forces that brought about the conclusion of the trade deal, the prospects for Australia-South Korea economic relations under the FTA, and the implications of the deal for each state and for economic integration in Asia.
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