[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] Starting Today: ROK-US-Japan Anti-Submarine Warfare Exercise

US Aircraft Carrier Nimitz Participates in Exercises South of Jeju
Trilateral US-ROK-Japan Search Training Resumes After 7 Years

The three countries of South Korea, the United States, and Japan will conduct anti-submarine warfare exercises and search and rescue drills on the 3rd and 4th in the southern open waters off Jeju, with the participation of the U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN-68).

On the 28th, the US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Nimitz (CVN-68) docked at the Busan operational base. The US 11th Carrier Strike Group, including the Nimitz, conducted joint naval exercises with the navy in international waters south of Jeju the previous day. Photo by Joint Press Corps

According to the Ministry of National Defense on the 3rd, the South Korean Navy will deploy the Aegis destroyer ROKS Yulgok Yi I (DDG-992), destroyers ROKS Choi Young (DDH-981) and ROKS Dae Jo Yeong (DDH-977), and the logistics support ship ROKS Soyang (AOE-51) for this exercise. From the U.S. Navy, the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, which conducted joint naval exercises with the South Korean Navy on the 27th of last month, the Aegis destroyers USS Decatur (DDG-73) and USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG-108) will participate, along with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer JS Umigiri (DD-158). The commander is Christopher Sweeney, commander of the U.S. 11th Carrier Strike Group.

In particular, the anti-submarine warfare exercises will utilize underwater unmanned targets (EMATT) possessed by the South Korean and U.S. navies to enhance the trilateral detection, tracking, information sharing, and neutralization capabilities against North Korean underwater threats. The trilateral anti-submarine warfare exercises among South Korea, the U.S., and Japan are being held for the first time in six months since September 2022. The three countries also conducted missile defense exercises in international waters near Dokdo on the 22nd of last month and in October of last year.

The trilateral search and rescue drills are disaster response and humanitarian assistance exercises that were first conducted in 2008 and held until 2016 before being suspended. The Ministry of National Defense emphasized that the drills have been resumed after seven years as part of the normalization of trilateral security cooperation among South Korea, the U.S., and Japan. Through these search and rescue exercises, the three countries will practice procedures for rapid rescue, emergency patient treatment, and evacuation during maritime accidents.

Brigadier General Kim In-ho, commander of the 7th Mobile Task Force, which commands the South Korean Navy’s participating forces, said, "This exercise will be a good opportunity to enhance the maritime operational capabilities of South Korea, the U.S., and Japan in response to increasingly sophisticated North Korean SLBM and other underwater threats."