The destroyer Kongo and an SH-60K helicopter went out west of the Goto Islands on Sunday to practise a rescue at sea with a South Korean landing ship, the Cheon Ja Bong. It was the first time the two navies had trained together in nearly nine years.
Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force announced the exercise on Monday. Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi wrote on X that “after a hiatus of approximately nine years, joint training between Japanese and South Korean forces has resumed.” He called it “the beginning of a new chapter in defense cooperation and exchanges between our two nations.”
Why it stopped
The search-and-rescue drills began in 1999 and were held every two years until they were suspended after the tenth round in 2017. Relations between the two militaries then soured in 2018. Seoul and Tokyo disputed the Rising Sun flag flown by Japan’s navy at an international fleet review in Jeju, and a separate row broke out over claims that a South Korean naval vessel had aimed its fire-control radar at a Japanese patrol aircraft.
A first attempt to restart the drills last November fell apart. Japan declined to provide aerial refueling for the Black Eagles, South Korea’s air force aerobatic team, because of the team’s training flights near the Dokdo islets. Defense exchanges were suspended more broadly as a result. After a phone call between the two defense ministers on December 26, Japan agreed to refuel the team, and talks resumed.
The path back
South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back and Koizumi met at the Maritime Self-Defense Force headquarters in Yokosuka in January. Their joint statement said: “The two sides agreed to resume a humanitarian search and rescue exercise.” They also reaffirmed their commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and to three-way cooperation with the United States. The schedule for the drills was announced at another ministerial meeting on the sidelines of a regional security conference.
The ties between the capitals have warmed on other fronts. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi travelled to South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s hometown of Andong last month for the latest round of shuttle diplomacy, and the two leaders announced an energy security agreement. The countries also held upgraded security talks involving senior officials for the first time. Tokyo already belongs to several small security groupings, including ones with Australia and the Philippines, and would be open to bringing Seoul in.
Sources
- Japanese and South Korean navies hold first joint drills in nine years
- South Korea, Japan agree to resume naval search and rescue drills after nine-year hiatus | Aju Press
