Time for strategic renewal of India-ROK partnership

India and South Korea must be prepared to support one another in safeguarding their shared democratic values, national sovereignty, a stable Indo-Pacific order, and strategic autonomy amid intensifying great-power competition.

- LAKHVINDER SINGH

The Indo-Pacific region is undergoing profound geostrategic transformation, reshaping the context within which India and the Republic of Korea (ROK) must re-envision their bilateral partnership.

When the two countries elevated their relations to a Strategic Partnership more than a decade ago, regional conditions appeared comparatively stable. The United States retained uncontested strategic primacy in Northeast Asia; the U.S.-ROK alliance functioned as a reliable deterrent against regional security threats; and although North Korea remained hostile, its strategic behavior was largely contained. Domestically, both India and South Korea experienced robust economic growth, demographic stability, and relatively cohesive social environments. Within this context, bilateral cooperation centered primarily on trade expansion, defence-industrial collaboration, and diplomatic exchanges—an approach that proved largely sufficient at the time.

Today, however, the international and domestic contexts shaping the partnership have shifted markedly. Strategic competition between the United States and China has deepened across technological, military, economic, and ideological spheres, influencing the security and economic choices of both countries in a big way. Washington's increasingly transactional foreign policy and Beijing’s selective support for multilateralism and open and free trade are reshaping regional strategic and economic agendas. The relative strategic simplicity of the past has given way to a more contested and multilayered regional order. These shifts require New Delhi and Seoul to reassess national security priorities, alliance frameworks, and long-term strategic partnerships.