On September 8, Armenian Defense Minister Suren Papikyan paid a business trip to South Korea. Earlier, on September 6, Armenian Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan visited Seoul and held several meetings.
According to official information, within the framework of the visit, on September 9, Papikyan participated in the opening ceremony of the summit “Responsible Artificial Intelligence in the Military Domain.” The event was organized by the defense and foreign ministries of Korea, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Singapore and the Republic of Kenya. The aim of the summit is to establish international mechanisms to control the use of artificial intelligence in military technologies and combat operations.
Papikyan also took part in a working lunch and discussions of ministers on September 10. The meeting was attended by the Ministers of Defence and Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea, the Ministers of Defence of Singapore and Finland, as well as experts in the field. During the luncheon, issues related to the development of bilateral and multilateral relations, challenges to international and regional security were discussed.
But this is just a facade for the purpose of Papikyan’s visit to South Korea.
Caliber.AzAccording to information received from reliable sources, negotiations were held in Seoul and then an agreement was reached on the supply of South Korean weapons to Armenia. In particular, the possibility of acquiring tanks was considered. We are talking about the K1 and K2 Black Panther tanks and other types of weapons. It should be noted that the K2 “Black Panther” is the main battle tank developed by the Defense Development Agency of the South Korean army and Hyundai Rotem (a division of Hyundai Motors).
But the issue is not limited to South Korea. According to our information, Japan may be included in the list of countries that Armenia is targeting. The Armenian delegation, which intends to negotiate the purchase of weapons, is currently in Gundogan’s country.
Negotiations between Yerevan and Seoul, and potentially Tokyo, on arms supplies to Armenia may seem surprising at first glance. After all, Azerbaijan has strong bilateral relations with South Korea and Japan, including in the economic sphere. For example, last year the trade turnover between Azerbaijan and South Korea amounted to $430 million (for comparison, note that the trade turnover between Yerevan and Seoul was $193.5 million). In addition, political relations are actively developing. For example, we can recall the congratulatory letter of the President of the Republic of Korea Yun Sok-yol to Ilham Aliyev on the occasion of his election as Head of State in February this year, which included the following words: “Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between our countries in 1992, our friendly and cooperative relations have expanded in various fields. I am especially pleased that our cooperation in the fields of energy, infrastructure, healthcare, smart villages, etc. has recently been strengthened.” He expressed confidence that relations between Baku and Seoul will develop further thanks to the joint efforts of the leaders of the two countries.
The same is true for Japan: last year, trade turnover between our countries increased by 49% compared to 2022 and reached 452 million US dollars (for comparison, note that trade turnover between Japan and Armenia in January-September 2023 was 297.4 million organized dollars). It is known that Baku has invited Japanese companies to participate in the implementation of the concepts of “smart city” and “smart village” created in the liberated economic region of Karabakh in Armenia.
Considering the international position of South Korea and Japan, we should not forget that these countries are completely dependent on the United States. For this reason, their negotiations on arms supplies to Armenia should not come as a surprise.
They are not only allies of Washington in the Asia-Pacific region, but also satellites of the United States. Moreover, although both countries can independently produce a wide range of weapons and equipment, their military-industrial complex is closely intertwined with some of the American weapons. Thus, Asian weapons are produced under American licenses and using American technology.
For example, in the case of the K1 tank, the K55 self-propelled howitzer, the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter and the K2 Black Panther tank, American systems and licenses are not directly used in their production. However, the main components of the K2 tank, such as the engine and transmission, were developed by the German concern “Rheinmetall”.
As for Japan, it also produces various types of weapons based on licenses and technologies granted by the United States.
For example, PAC-3 Patriot anti-aircraft missiles, SH-60K multipurpose helicopter, F-2 fighter, etc.
These examples show that both Korea and Japan have traditionally carried out licensed production of certain US military equipment.
Thus, in relation to Armenia, we are faced with the traditional practice of the United States, which acts through its allies without direct participation. Therefore, no one doubts that Washington is behind the issue of arms supplies to Armenia by South Korea and Japan. Such actions clearly correspond to the logic of the Brussels agreements reached on April 5, 2024, following the meeting in the Armenia-EU-US format with the participation of Nikol Pashinyan, Ursula von der Leyen and Antony Blinken. All other developments – withdrawal of Russian border guards from Zvartnots, joint US-Armenian exercises, deployment of US troops and weapons in Zangezur, more than doubling of financial aid to Yerevan through USAID and, finally, negotiations on the purchase of arms from South Korea and Japan – are by-products of the Brussels negotiations. The United States clearly intends to use Armenia as a springboard for expanding its influence in the South Caucasus, including militarization and escalation of tensions.
The editors of Calibre.Az, of course, turned to the embassies of South Korea and Japan in Azerbaijan for comment. Official requests have been sent to these diplomatic missions to clarify the information received. Employees of the political department of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea promised to respond to the request. The Japanese embassy warned that it will take several days to prepare a response.
