South Korea, U.S. and Japan to Conduct Joint Naval Drill: ASW Exercise in International Waters South of Jeju on April 3-4

The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the USS Nimitz (CVN-68) departs from the naval base in Nam-gu, Busan on the morning of April 2. USS Nimitz arrived at the Busan base on March 28 to conduct joint maritime drills with the R.O.K. Navy.

On April 3, the Republic of Korea Navy announced that it would conduct a joint exercise with the United States and Japan in the open sea south of Jeju from April 3 to 4. The naval drill will include anti-submarine warfare (ASW) exercises and search and rescue operations.

The commander of the latest drill will be Christopher Sweeney, U.S. commander of the Carrier Strike Group Eleven. The Aegis destroyer ROKS Yulgok Yi Yi (DDG-992), the destroyer ROKS Choe Yeong (DDH-981), the ROKS Dae Jo-yeong (DDH-977), and the combat support ship ROKS Soyang (AOE-51) will take part in the latest drill from South Korea. From the U.S. Navy, the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the USS Nimitz (CVN-68), the Aegis destroyer USS Decatur (DDG-73), and the USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG-108) will join the drill. The destroyer JS Umigiri (DD-158) from the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force will take part in the joint exercise.

This is the first anti-submarine warfare drill conducted by the three countries in six months since the last exercise in September 2022. The latest exercise was planned to improve the three countries’ response to threats in the water, such as submarine-launched ballistic missiles, which North Korea has recently upgraded.

Military authorities plan to use the Expendable Mobile ASW Training Target (EMATT), owned by the R.O.K. and U.S. navies, in the latest training and to improve the three countries’ ability to detect, track, and destroy, as well as share intelligence on North Korean threats in the water.

Rear Admiral Kim In-ho, commander of the Maritime Task Flotilla Seven and the commander of the participating forces from the R.O.K. Navy explained, “The latest drill will be a good opportunity to improve the capabilities of the Republic of Korea, the United States and Japan to execute maritime operations in response to threats in the sea, such as advanced submarine-launched ballistic missiles from North Korea,” and said, “We will disable any form of provocation by North Korea with an overwhelming and decisive response.”