In response to mounting worries about dangers presented by North Korean ballistic missiles to the region, South Korea, the United States, and Japan on Friday conducted anti-submarine drills in international waters off the Sea of Japan for the first time in five years.
The one-day tripartite exercises, which were led by US forces and focused on locating and tracking submarines, were the first of their kind since 2017, according to the official Japanese news agency “Kyodo.” They took place in the wake of North Korea’s repeated ballistic missile launches in the Sea of Japan over the past two days.
Such drills, according to the South Korean Navy, are intended to strengthen defence capabilities against threats from North Korean submarines, which have increasingly increased as Pyongyang’s short-range ballistic missiles have gotten better.
The US aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan, the South Korean destroyer “Monmo the Great,” and the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer “Asahi” are all participating in the exercises, according to the statement.
The exercises also take place a day after US Vice President Camilla Harris spent a day in South Korea, where she emphasised the value of trilateral cooperation in addressing any North Korean provocations in the future.
Anti-submarine drills are held in international waters off the Sea of Japan by South Korea, the United States, and Japan.
About Author
