By Jung Sung-ki
South Korea and the United States engaged in a joint anti-submarine warfare (ASW) exercise Monday in the waters west of the Korean Peninsula, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) and U.S. Forces Korea.
This is the second in a series of security exercises designed to send a message of deterrence to North Korea, which has been blamed for torpedoing the Cheonan in March near the disputed in the western sea.
North Korea has denied any involvement in the ship sinking that killed 46 South Korean sailors.
The exercise will coincide with a special conference of North Korea’s Workers’ Party, during which dictator Kim Jong-il is expected to name his youngest son, Jong-un, as his successor. The conference is expected to open Tuesday.
“The exercise started around 7 a.m., and everything is going well in accordance with our maneuver plans,” a JCS spokesman told reporters.
The ASW exercise was originally scheduled for Sept. 5 to 9, but it was postponed due to an approaching typhoon at that time.
During the five-day exercise, which will run through Friday, scores of ships from the South Korean and U.S. Navies will conduct joint ASW maneuvers, the spokesman said.
Participating units from the U.S. Navy include guided-missile destroyers USS John S. McCain and USS Fitzgerald, both forward deployed to Yokosuka, Japan; the ocean surveillance ship USNS Victorious (T-AGOS 19); a fast-attack submarine; and P-3C Orion aircraft from Patrol Squadron NINE (VP-9), home-porte at Kaneohoe Marine Corps Base in Hawaii.
South Korea will deploy two destroyers, a fast frigate, a patrol craft, P-3C aircraft from Carrier Air Wing-Six and an attack submarine.
The focus is on anti-submarine warfare tactics, techniques and procedures, the JCS said in a press release earlier.
The first exercise in this series, combined naval and air readiness exercise "Invincible Spirit," was conducted in the waters east of the Korean Peninsula from July 25-28. An F-22 Raptor aircraft and the USS George Washington nuclear-powered aircraft carrier participated.