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Australian and Korean relations is at an all-time historic high and is set to continue to rise, according to comments made by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles.
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Minister Marles is undertaking meetings with Korean leadership this week at the Australia–Korea 2+2 Foreign and Defence Ministers’ meeting. He also recently attended the Hanwha Armoured Vehicle Centre of Excellence site in Geelong.
“(The Hanwha site) is a significant investment in Australia’s defence industry and a great example of how Australia and the Republic of Korea are working together to strengthen our industrial bases,” he said.
“Last year, the Albanese government signed a $4.5 billion contract with Hanwha for the production of 129 locally built Redback infantry fighting vehicles. Building these here will support 1,800 direct local jobs, with dozens of Australian defence industry and manufacturing companies to also contribute.
“As my counterpart, National Defense Minister Shin, and I had the opportunity to see today, momentous progress is being made towards the delivery of this important capability.
“Our two countries are more strategically aligned now than at any point in our history and we look forward to discussing how we can continue to work together to meet our shared strategic circumstances.”
The visit follows the recent rejection of a $1.02 billion takeover offer from South Korea’s Hanwha Group for the Australian shipbuilder Austal.
“Obviously, we’ve announced, in a pilot way, if I could put it that way, Austal being our strategic shipbuilder in Western Australia,” Minister Marles said while speaking to ABC Afternoon Briefing on 30 April.
“Austal is a critically important company for Australia in terms of establishing continuous naval shipbuilding in this country and particularly in Western Australia. So, Austal matters.
“Hanwha is a really important company now as well within Australian defence industry, given the role that they [are] playing, here in Geelong actually, in terms of building the infantry fighting vehicles, the Redbacks.
“They’re also building the self-propelled howitzers here. and I’ll be touring the facility here in Geelong with the Korean Defence Minister.
“We see a growing place that Hanwha has within our defence industry and the providing of capability to our Defence Force. But I think that forms part, as you said, of a growing relationship with Korea, more generally, in terms of our defence to defence relationship.
“Indeed, I would say that as we speak now, that relationship is at a historic high point and we want to take it further. And that will very much be part of the conversations that we have ... in our two plus two (defence minister meetings).
