| Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, center, poses for a photo in front of South Korea's indigenous FA-50 fighter jet together with South Korean and Malaysian officials during his visit to the Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI) headquarters in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province, Monday. On his left is South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) chief Wang Jung-hong and on his right, KAI CEO Ahn Hyun-ho. Courtesy of KAI |
By Jung Da-min
The Ministry of National Defense is using this year's ASEAN-Republic of Korea Commemorative Summit as a springboard to help the country's defense companies get new growth opportunities in the booming defense industry sector in the trading bloc.
The summit is taking place Monday and Tuesday in Busan, and leading defense companies have invited the ASEAN delegations to their headquarters to show off their weapons development programs. South Korea's Aegis combat system-equipped destroyers, frigates and submarines, in particular, put on a display at the Busan Naval Base from Monday to Wednesday.
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad visited the Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI) headquarters in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province, Monday, to view the company's aircraft production sites where he inspected the KAI FA-50, the combat variant of the South Korea's first indigenous supersonic trainer, the T-50 Golden Eagle, the KAI KUH-1 Surion twin-engine transport utility helicopter, and the KAI KT-1 Woongbi basic trainer.
Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) chief Wang Jung-hong and KAI CEO Ahn Hyun-ho greeted the Malaysian delegation.
Mahathir said that seeing the production site made him have more trust and he looks forward to continuing cooperation between the two countries.
The Malaysian Air Force is pushing forward with the procurement of its next Light Combat Aircraft, and the KAI has put forward the FA-50. The fighter aircraft has been exported to three other ASEAN countries ― Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand. KAI officials said it will promote its aircraft programs to other foreign delegations, including those from Brunei and Vietnam.
The defense ministry also signed an intelligence sharing pact with Singapore in the chemical, biological, and radiological protection field on the first day of the summit. The ministry also plans to sign an agreement with the Philippines, Nov. 26, under which the two countries will be cooperating in procuring defense materials.
The ministry has been operating a taskforce for the country's defense procurement projects involving private and public participation, headed by Vice Defense Minister Park Jae-min, since July.
“The Ministry of National Defense has been strengthening defense technology and industrial cooperation with ASEAN countries, where the potential for the defense market is higher than other regions, while pushing forward governmental-level projects such the KF-X/IF-X fighter project with Indonesia, defense industry cooperation seminars with Indonesia and the Philippines, strategic defense dialogue with Vietnam, and the opening of a mutual military attache office in Laos,” the ministry said in a statement.
“The ministry is set to help South Korean defense companies promote their latest technology to ASEAN countries through expanded cooperation with them in various fields.”