In November 2025, the United States Studies Centre (USSC) at the University of Sydney and the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Australia co-hosted the second Australia-ROK Track 1.5 Dialogue on Security Cooperation, convening Australian and South Korean experts, policymakers, government officials and industry leaders. Central themes of the dialogue included strengthening the intellectual foundations of the bilateral security partnership and what the two countries might learn from one another’s nuclear-powered submarine agreements with the United States.
USSC Research Associate Kester Abbott, USSC Research Fellow Tom Corben and USSC Research Associate Tara Luckock unpack the key findings from those discussions in a new outcomes report, Getting past potential? Outcomes of the 2025 Australia-Republic of Korea Dialogue on Security Cooperation.
“While the discussions explored the divergences between Australia and South Korea’s strategic priorities, bridging these gaps is essential to maintaining regional stability at a time when confidence in traditional security guarantees is being tested,” said USSC Director of Foreign Policy and Defence Dr Lavina Lee.
The participants in the Track 1.5 agreed that the time is now ripe to focus on the specific requirements and drivers of practical defence and security cooperation between Australia and South Korea, given the deteriorating Indo-Pacific security environment and declining confidence in Washington’s reliability in the region. Already, Australia and South Korea have demonstrated what deeper defence and security cooperation can achieve, as seen by recent advances in the space and cyber realm, such as increased South Korean rocket launches from Australian territory and closer alignment in their cyber strategies.
“A more structured pipeline of candid engagement between our strategic communities would help to address the gaps in understanding between the two countries and drive the defence and security relationship forward,” noted Mr Corben.
- Getting past potential? Outcomes of the 2025 Australia-Republic of Korea Dialogue on Security Cooperation is now available to view and download.