Oceans of Alignment: India–South Korea Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific

Editors’ Note 

Global uncertainty is rising as countries are putting up protectionist barriers in the name of national security and job creation. Supply-chain disruptions are becoming more frequent due to wars and extreme weather events. In this current era of a polycrisis, countries are being compelled to find credible and reliable partners whose needs are similar and strengths are complementary. The maritime sector is one domain in which India and the Republic of Korea can build a strategic relationship that strengthens their economic resilience and contributes to regional peace in the Indo-Pacific.

In April 2026, leaders of the two countries met for their first formal bilateral summit since 2019.^[1] The resulting India-Republic of Korea Comprehensive Framework for Partnership in Shipbuilding, Shipping and Maritime Logistics stands out for its breadth and depth, as well as its specificity and ambition.^[2] The Framework links bilateral cooperation directly to India’s broader maritime strategy, including the Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047^[3] as well as specific industrial policies, while identifying key public and private stakeholders.

The present volume, Oceans of Alignment: India-South Korea Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, explores five themes that examine the state of India-Korea^[a] maritime partnership and the opportunities for enhancing it. It brings together scholars from India and South Korea who carefully consider how the two countries can jointly respond to changes in the maritime, economic, technological, and strategic environment. Its five sections examine the geoeconomic foundations of the partnership, maritime supply-chain resilience, industrial and shipbuilding cooperation, the green maritime transition, and the human and community dimensions of maritime development.

The first section analyses the macro trends that make the maritime partnership between India and South Korea vital.

Kyunghoon Kim writes about how Korea’s competitive maritime industries have been key enablers of its trade-driven, global-value-chain-linked growth experience. Korea and India’s overlapping goals, as well as the growing value chain linkages between them, make maritime industries an important area for future strategic partnership.

In the second chapter, Abhishek Sharma situates the India-Korea relationship in the context of Indo-Pacific geoeconomics—where the two countries view one another as essential partners amidst shifts in the global order. The article highlights the potential areas for collaboration in shipbuilding, semiconductors, batteries, and digital technologies.

The second set of essays discuss the risks posed by certain geopolitical factors that influence maritime logistics.

Yeon-jung Ji highlights how the future competitiveness of India and South Korea will depend on their ability to prepare for and respond to chokepoint vulnerabilities, which increase transport time and costs and the risk of physical damage. In such an environment of various vulnerabilities, India, with its large market and growing manufacturing competitiveness, offers Korea opportunities to diversify its economic risks. India can also gain from the industrial technologies and knowhow of Korean companies.

Sayantan Haldar follows with an article that links India’s port-centred development programmes to the country’s regional strategy to play a pivotal role in the Indo-Pacific.

The third section focuses its lens on the most important trends in the global shipbuilding sector and identifies promising areas for cooperation in the India-South Korea partnership.

Byungyul Park underlines the transformation of global shipbuilding, in which companies need to advance innovation beyond scale and cost-cutting in order to maintain industry leadership. The author argues that Korea’s industrial upgrade is supported by innovation networks that act as platforms for interaction between businesses and research institutions, and underlines how India will benefit from learning from Korea’s experience.

Pratnashree Basu, writing around the same overall theme, provides the rationale for strengthening the India-South Korea shipbuilding partnership in the current period of geoeconomic uncertainty. The essay outlines the key structural trends in the global economy, such as decarbonisation and digitalisation, that are also driving tectonic shifts in the shipbuilding industry, opening up strategic opportunities for technological and engineering partnerships between India and Korea.

The next two articles explore the theme of decarbonising the seas, fixing their analytical lens on the implications of the promotion and development of carbon-reducing technologies in maritime sectors.

Doyeon Kim analyses the important role that green hydrogen is expected to play in the sustainable development of the maritime sector. It suggests setting up a Korea-India Green Energy Corridor, which would include early-stage cooperation programmes such as pilot projects, testing and certification, and the sharing of standards.

Parul Bakshi follows with an essay that highlights global institutional frameworks for maritime decarbonisation, such as the International Maritime Organization’s Revised Greenhouse Gas Strategy and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The author argues that India and Korea have an opportunity to cooperate at multiple levels in the areas of production value chain, energy systems, co-financing, and standard-setting.

The publication closes with two essays that explore the human and social dimensions of maritime transformation.

Yoon Jae Ro discusses how Korea and India can work together to train a competitive workforce for maritime industries that are becoming increasingly complex and technologically sophisticated. The two countries can consider cooperation in skills mapping, curriculum development, institutional capacity building, industrial training, certification, and mobility in the maritime sector.

Anusha Kesarkar Gavankar and Priya Miriam Noronha, in the final article, suggest a multipronged approach to inclusive maritime cooperation between India and Korea. Large maritime industrial and infrastructure projects have spillover effects that reshape surrounding economies and societies. More specifically, changes in the landscape, natural environment, and job availability can transform an entire region. Sustainability, therefore, should be at the heart of maritime development.

Collectively, the essays in this volume make a strong case for India-Korea maritime cooperation. The two countries are reliable partners that can work together to strengthen their resilience to geoeconomic and geopolitical instability. Moreover, India and Korea have complementary capabilities that can create synergies through cooperation in maritime security, supply chains, manufacturing, decarbonisation, and human capital development.

The authors agree that the maritime sector will be a pivotal area for India-Korea partnership for decades to come. Considerable preparation is now required, as the maritime industry is a complex, multi-level sector involving diverse stakeholders. The next step requires establishing institutional mechanisms for sustained dialogue and coordination and developing an ambitious yet realistic roadmap to guide the long-term maritime partnership.

Read the full monograph here.

Access the chapters here:

Editors’ Note

Geoeconomic Drivers of South Korea–India Maritime Cooperation

Kyunghoon Kim

Maritime Security and Supply Chain Resilience in the Indo-Pacific

Abhishek Sharma

Disrupted but Endurable: Global Supply Chain Fragmentation and Maritime Risk

Yeon-jung Ji

Bolstering Maritime Supply Chain Resilience to Strengthen the India–Korea Strategic Compact

Sayantan Haldar

Beyond Scale: South Korea’s Shipbuilding Strategy and Implications for Korea India Maritime Cooperation

Byungyul Park

Maritime Industrialisation: The India–South Korea Opportunity

Pratnashree Basu

Building a South Korea–India Green Hydrogen Partnership Through a Port-Based Green Energy Corridor

Doyeon Kim

India–South Korea Cooperation on Alternative Maritime Fuels and Port Energy Systems

Parul Bakshi

From Shipyards to Skills: India–South Korea Cooperation for Maritime Labour Transitions

Yoon Jae Ro

Strengthening Capacity Building and Inclusive Maritime Development in India ROK Cooperation

Anusha Kesarkar Gavankar and Priya Miriam Noronha

Anusha Kesarkar Gavankar is Senior Fellow and Director, Oceans Initiative, Observer Research Foundation.

Kyunghoon Kim is Head, India and South Asia Team, Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP).

All views expressed in this publication are solely those of the authors, and do not represent the Observer Research Foundation, either in its entirety or its officials and personnel.

Endnotes

^[a] This publication uses the names ‘South Korea’, ‘Korea’, and ‘ROK’ interchangeably.

^[1] Joyce Lee and Manoj Kumar, “India and South Korea Plan $50 Billion Trade Push with New Deals,” Reuters, April 20, 2026, https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/south-koreas-lee-seek-big-boost-economic-ties-summit-with-indias-modi-2026-04-20/.

^[2] Minister of External Affairs, Government of India, https://www.mea.gov.in/bilateral-documents?dtl/41065/IndiaROK_Comprehensive_Framework_for_Partnership_in_Shipbuilding_Shipping_and_Maritime_Logistics.

^[3] Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Government of India, Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047, October 2023, https://shipmin.gov.in/sites/default/files/Maritime%20Amrit%20Kaal%20Vision%202047%20%28MAKV%202047%29_compressed.pdf.