South Korea and Australia Strengthen Energy and Defense Cooperation Amid Middle East Crisis

Top diplomats of South Korea and Australia held talks Thursday and agreed to enhance cooperation to ensure stable supplies of diesel and other energy resources amid global supply disruptions caused by the ongoing crisis in the Middle East.

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and his Australian counterpart, Penny Wong, adopted a joint statement during their meeting in Seoul, covering high-level exchanges, economic security, defense cooperation and regional security issues.

"The ROK and Australia share deep concern over the situation in the Middle East and its consequences for our region, including impacts on energy, resources and other important commodities," the governments said in a joint statement. The ROK is the acronym of South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea.

The two sides reaffirmed their commitment "to working together to strengthen energy resource security, including efforts to maintain a stable, secure and reliable supply of diesel and other liquid fuels, energy resource commodities, including liquefied natural gas (LNG) and condensate."

They also promised to "notify and consult each other on any potential disruptions as far as practicable," the statement read.

The two sides also vowed to deepen regional cooperation, accelerate energy transition, address unjustified import and export restrictions, and support open trade arrangements for energy resources and liquid fuels so as to strengthen energy supply chain resilience.

Australia is South Korea's largest LNG supplier and one of its key suppliers of condensate and critical minerals, while South Korea is one of Australia's major suppliers of diesel and a key supplier of refined petroleum products.

The conflict in the Middle East, which began in late February following the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, has escalated into a broader war, disrupting global supply chains and rattling markets, as the Strait of Hormuz, a key energy logistics route in the region, has effectively been shut.

South Korea relies heavily on overseas supplies to meet its energy needs, while it is a major exporter of refined petroleum products.

During the talks, Cho and Wong also discussed ways to expand cooperation in the defense industry by building on momentum from a South Korean defense firm's establishment of the first overseas manufacturing hub in Australia, the ministry said.

Hanwha Aerospace Co. has been operating a major manufacturing facility in Geelong, Australia, since 2024, producing K9 self-propelled howitzers and K10 armored ammunition resupply vehicles.