Will South Korea and Japan Revisit the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement?

Japanese Defense Minister Koizumi Visits Seoul for Ministerial Talks
South Korean Government Maintains Cautious Stance Amid Japan's Continued Calls

Attention is focused on whether the defense ministers of South Korea and Japan, meeting again after about a month, will revisit the issue of concluding the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA). While Japan is pushing for the agreement to strengthen trilateral security cooperation with the United States, the South Korean government remains cautious. The ACSA is a bilateral agreement that allows for the exchange of logistical support such as ammunition, fuel, and food in times of emergency.

Defense Minister An Kyu-baek is meeting with Shinjiro Koizumi, Japan's Minister of Defense, at the 23rd Asia Security Conference held in Singapore last month. Photo by the Ministry of National Defense, Yonhap News Agency

According to the Ministry of National Defense on June 26, Shinjiro Koizumi, Japan's Minister of Defense, will visit South Korea from June 27 to 28. The visit can be seen as a reciprocal visit following Minister An's trip to Japan in January. Defense Minister An Kyu-baek and Minister Koizumi are scheduled to hold a South Korea-Japan defense ministers’ meeting at the Ministry of National Defense building in Seoul on the morning of June 28.

Notably, after the meeting, Minister An and Minister Koizumi are reportedly planning to meet with young people from both countries at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses (KIDA) in Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, to engage in a security dialogue. Dongdaemun-gu, where KIDA is located, is also Minister An's constituency. When Minister An visited Japan in January, Minister Koizumi invited him to his own constituency, Yokosuka City. At the time, the two ministers played a friendly table tennis match as part of their social schedule. It is reported that a similar friendly table tennis event is being planned for this visit as well.

Japan's Continued Request for Trilateral Security Cooperation

Japan has consistently requested the conclusion of the ACSA. Japan sees the institutionalization of security cooperation, including the ACSA, as necessary for stronger trilateral security ties with the United States and South Korea. Japan already has ACSAs with the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, India, and Germany.

Last month, during the Asia Security Conference (Shangri-La Dialogue) in Singapore, Minister Koizumi and Minister An held a bilateral meeting and agreed to resume the South Korea-Japan search and rescue exercise (SAREX) after nine years. The resumption of the search and rescue exercise is significant as it marks the restoration of defense cooperation between the two countries, which had been suspended due to issues such as the controversy over the display of the Rising Sun flag on a Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force vessel at the 2018 Jeju International Fleet Review and the subsequent dispute over surveillance aircraft.

Pursuing Further Institutionalization After GSOMIA

Japan is now seeking the next stage of cooperation after SAREX. At the vice-ministerial-level '2+2' security policy meeting between South Korea and Japan held earlier this month, Japan raised the issue of the ACSA, and reiterated its necessity during the Shangri-La Dialogue. If the ACSA is concluded, it will mark another step in formalizing security cooperation between South Korea and Japan, following the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) signed in 2016 under the Park Geun-hye administration to facilitate the exchange of information on North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats.

However, given the sensitive public sentiment in South Korea regarding military cooperation with Japan and historical issues between the two countries, the South Korean government finds it difficult to move forward. Some have even raised concerns that the agreement could provide a legal basis for the deployment of Japanese Self-Defense Forces on the Korean Peninsula in emergencies. In 2012, during the Lee Myung-bak administration, South Korea and Japan attempted to conclude both the GSOMIA and the ACSA, but both agreements were shelved at the last minute. Despite Japan’s continued calls for the ACSA since then, the South Korean government’s cautious stance has led to no visible progress.

Lee Jaemyung Administration Maintains "Premature" Stance Citing Historical Issues

The Lee Jaemyung administration also maintains that it is “premature” to conclude the ACSA at this time. During a press conference marking the first anniversary of his inauguration held at the Presidential Guest House, President Lee stated, regarding the South Korea-Japan ACSA, “Given the public sentiment in our country, it is currently difficult to accept.”

Since immediate progress on the ACSA is unlikely, Japan may seek to strengthen defense cooperation through alternative means. Recently, Japanese media reported that South Korea’s Black Eagles aerobatic team received aerial refueling support from the Japan Air Self-Defense Force in January, and that the defense authorities of both countries are considering making such support routine. Minister An and Minister Koizumi are reportedly planning to visit the Air Force’s Wonju base, home to the Black Eagles, on June 27, raising interest in whether related discussions will take place.

Meanwhile, during this visit, Minister Koizumi is also scheduled to meet with Foreign Minister Cho Hyun at the Government Complex Seoul on June 28, at Japan’s request. Minister Cho also met with Minister Koizumi, then serving as Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, during his visit to South Korea in August last year. Minister Koizumi, the son of former Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi (who led the Japanese cabinet from 2001 to 2006), is known to take a keen interest in South Korea-Japan diplomatic relations.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.