SEOUL, June 7 (Yonhap) — South Korea and Japan on Sunday held a joint maritime search and rescue exercise (SAREX) for the first time in nine years, the Navy said.
The drill was conducted by the South Korean Navy and Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force in international waters southeast of Jeju Island, according to the Navy.
The exercise involved the Navy’s 4,900-ton ROKS Cheon Ja Bong landing ship, Japan’s 7,250-ton Aegis-equipped Kongo destroyer and a Japanese maritime patrol helicopter.
Launched in 1999, the biennial SAREX exercise was designed to train procedures for coordinated responses between naval ships from both countries in the event of maritime incidents in waters near the Korean Peninsula.
The drills had been suspended since the 10th round in 2017, as bilateral ties soured following a dispute over a Japanese maritime patrol aircraft making an unusually low-altitude flyby over a South Korean warship in December 2018.
The two countries agreed to resume the exercises in their defense ministers’ talks in January and announced their schedule during another round of bilateral ministerial talks on the sidelines of the Asia Security Summit, also known as the Shangri-La Dialogue, last month.
South Korean Navy officers participate in a joint maritime search and rescue exercise with Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force in international waters southeast of Jeju Island on June 7, 2026, in this photo provided by the Navy. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
brk@yna.co.kr
(END)
