President Yoon's Visit to Hawaii Day... RIMPAC's First Naval Exercise
by Yang Nakgyu
Pubilshed 10 Jul.2024 08:38(KST)
Deployment of Yulgok Yi I, Chungmugong Yi Sunshin, and Lee Beomseok Ships
29 Countries Participating This Year... Only South Korea and the US Include Submarines
On the 10th, when President Yoon Suk-yeol visits the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command in Hawaii, the first maritime exercise of the Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC) will take place. RIMPAC is the world's largest multinational maritime exercise held biennially, with 29 countries participating this year.
On that day, a military official stated, "The Aegis destroyer ROKS Yulgok Yi I (DDG, 7,600 tons) will be deployed with the carrier strike group, the Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin (DDH-II, 4,400 tons) with the expeditionary strike group, and the Son Won-il-class submarine ROKS Lee Beom-seok (SS-II, 1,800 tons) will participate in the theater-wide anti-submarine warfare training."
This year, South Korea is the only country besides the United States to dispatch submarine forces to RIMPAC. Compared to two years ago, two NATO member countries (Italy and Belgium) have joined this year. Analysts interpret this as a countermeasure against the alliance of North Korea, China, and Russia. RIMPAC is scheduled to be held from the 26th of last month to the 2nd of next month, and since it is hosted by the U.S. military, the Indo-Pacific Command is in charge of the exercise headquarters.
All U.S. forces stationed in South Korea and Japan belong to the Indo-Pacific Command. The Indo-Pacific Command is composed of subordinate commands including the Pacific Fleet, Marine Corps Forces Pacific, and Army and Air Force Pacific commands.
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