[The Epoch Times, 20 ottobre 2022](Reported by Wu Huanxin, reporter with the Epoch Times Special Department) inPCCunder obstruction,PolandDeputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Bvaszcak recently failed to make a trip to South Korea, but the Polish Defense Ministry on October 19 andSouth KoreaMilitary-industrial companies have signed huge new arms orders.
according toSouth KoreaThe Ministry of National Defense revealed on October 19 that “Hanwha Defense”, a defense company of South Korea’s Hanwha Group, is inPolandWarsaw and the Polish Ministry of Defense signed an agreement for the export of 288 K-239 “Sky Dance” multiple rocket launchersFramework Agreementthe scale could exceed US $ 6 billion and delivery will begin in 2023.
Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said the K-239 “Sky Dance” is a very good armament that matches the US ordered by Poland in 2019 and will be delivered next year. The HIMARS produced “has very similar characteristics”.
He said US contractors “could no longer deliver ‘Haimas’ in a satisfactory amount of time”, “so we had talks with South Korea, our proven partners, our friends and today we signed theFramework Agreement“。
Although the deal signed by Han Bo did not disclose the specific scale of the procurement, according to the Yonhap news agency, citing local media in Warsaw, the procurement scale has exceeded US $ 6 billion. This is the second time that Poland has bought South Korean weapons. In August of this year, the Polish Armaments Agency signed the first phase of the contract for the export of K2 “Black Panther” tanks and K9 self-propelled artillery with two South Korean military enterprises, Hyundai Rotem and Hanwha Defense, with a scale of US $ 5.76 billion.
The first arms handover ceremony was held in Seoul, South Korea, on the 19th, and arms handover was officially launched.
Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Bvaszcak originally planned to lead a Polish government delegation visiting South Korea on the 17th. While attending the first batch of weapons ceremony, he signed a contract with Hanwha Defense to introduce 288 K -239 “Sky Dance” multiple rocket launcher in South Korea. Framework agreement signed. However, the trip had to be canceled due toPCCThe government refused to let the Polish envoy’s special plane pass into Chinese airspace. If the special plane bypasses other countries without passing through Chinese airspace, it will lead to long business trips and the Polish envoy will eventually abandon the trip to South Korea.
The Polish team had no choice but to change the weapons handover ceremony to online presence, and the meeting between the defense ministers of South Korea and Poland also took place online.
As for why the CCP government does not allow the Polish envoy’s special plane to pass through the airspace, South Korean public generally believes that the CCP regime that favored Russia in the Russian aggression war against Ukraine he may have made such a decision given Russia’s position.
Kim Taewoo, professor in the Department of Military Affairs of Konyang University in South Korea and former dean of the Institute for Unification, told The Epoch Times that Poland opposed Russia’s aggression against the Ukraine and actively supported Ukraine’s weapons. , in this way.
“However, this approach is too backward! Internationally, all countries open up airspace to all non-military civilian aircraft. China (the CCP) violates this principle by doing so,” he stressed.
In addition, Jin Taiyu also said that from South Korea’s point of view, the CCP’s approach also has a “warning meaning” for South Korea, which is in the Western camp.
The People’s Liberation Army Daily, the Chinese Communist Party’s military newspaper, threatened South Korea with a report in August entitled “South Korea’s arms sales to Poland can cause fires,” stating that South Korea’s arms sales to Poland can cause fires. South Korea to Poland were “South Korea is also involved to some extent in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.” If you walk a tightrope to make money on the brink of war, South Korea could get burned. “
South Korea’s arms exports rise to eighth place in the world
South Korea recently signed a series of revolutionary arms agreements. In July of this year, South Korea and Poland reached “the largest arms deal in South Korean history”, which will provide Poland with nearly 1,000 “Black Panther” K2 main tanks, 648 K9 “Thunder self-propelled howitzers. “and 48 FA-50 light fighter aircraft, the total contract value is expected to exceed 19 trillion won (approximately $ 14.5 billion).
On February 1 of this year, South Korea signed a $ 1.7 billion arms sales agreement with Egypt to supply Egypt with hundreds of K9 self-propelled howitzers, K10 ammunition supply vehicles, and fire direction control vehicles K11.
On January 16 this year, the Korean Defense Agency revealed that the UAE Ministry of Defense has finally decided to purchase the Korean-made medium-range surface-to-air missile defense system (M-SAM2). ” Tiangong II “, with a total contract worth US $ 3.5 billion.
On December 13 last year, South Korea and Australia formally signed a contract for the export of 30 K9 self-propelled artillery vehicles and 15 K10 ammunition refueling vehicles, for a total amount of 1,090 billion won (approximately 920 million of US dollars).
Furthermore, South Korea’s arms exports to Asia-Pacific countries are also strong. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the Philippines and Indonesia are South Korea’s two largest customers, accounting for 16% and 14% of purchases over the past five years, respectively.
New global arms trade data released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute in March this year showed that South Korea’s share of the global arms export market increased from 1% in 2012-2016 to 2.8. % in 2017-2021, with a 177%% increase in sales, making it the eighth largest arms exporter in the world. The top seven arms exporters are the United States, Russia, France, China, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom. Among the top 25 arms exporters in the world, South Korea recorded the largest increase in market share.
After the South Korean military industry received a large order from Poland in July of this year, Ramon Pacheco Pardo, a professor at King’s College London and a visiting professor at the Free University of Brussels, published in August in the “Joongang Daily South Korea’s editorial said the order once again solidified South Korea’s position as the only Asian country to export arms to NATO members.
The article stated that the reason South Korea has become a preferred arms supplier to countries around the world is that South Korea has the ability to supply state-of-the-art weapons reliably and quickly.
Second, Russia and China are the top arms exporters to Asia, but their share of the global arms export market is taking a huge hit as major arms importers refuse to buy arms from both countries.
Third, South Korea is a close military ally of the United States, which also benefits South Korea’s arms exports. South Korea’s weapons systems use a lot of American technology, which may not be the technology. more recent or cutting edge, but it is also quite sophisticated and helps improve the quality of South Korean military equipment.
Responsible editor: Li Ling #
