Australia's gross domestic product stood at $1.83 trillion last year, similar to Korea's $1.86 trillion. Yet the two countries' diplomatic capabilities differ sharply. While Australia takes the lead in coordinating economic and security cooperation with partner nations to reshape global supply chains, Korea has failed to translate its elevated international standing into diplomatic influence, critics say.
According to diplomatic sources Friday, Australia has built cooperation frameworks since March, when oil supply shortages spread due to the Iran war, by successively issuing "joint energy security statements" with Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei and others. The plan is to reorganize the energy supply chain by linking each country's strengths in diesel, petroleum products and liquefied natural gas (LNG).
In this way, Australia is positioning itself as a key player shaking up the global economic and security order from a long-term perspective. Together with Japan, it led the launch of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), and in 2021 it became the first non-nuclear state to secure US approval for the transfer of nuclear-powered submarine technology. Abundant natural resources, including rare earths, are a core asset underpinning this diplomatic clout. Japan, too, is expanding its regional influence by presenting new diplomatic and security agendas such as Power Asia.
By contrast, Korea, with a similar economic size, holds core technologies that could serve as "choke points" in industries such as semiconductors, nuclear power and defense, yet remains stuck in the passive diplomacy characteristic of developing countries, analysts say. Cho Yang-hyun, a professor at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy, said, "Korea still acts like a developing country." He added, "It needs to break away from a mindset always preoccupied with catching up and from a perspective that looks only at the Korean Peninsula."
