The government has decided to expand the mission area of the Cheonghae Unit, which protects merchant ships in the Gulf of Aden waters in Somalia, to southern Oman, closer to the Strait of Hormuz, and to dispatch additional forces such as maritime patrol aircraft, explosive ordnance disposal (EOD), and unmanned minesweeping equipment.
The purpose of dispatching EOD and unmanned minesweeping equipment is to prepare for the possibility of the international community participating in mine removal operations in the Strait of Hormuz, which may begin after the end of the war between the United States and Iran.
The government can be seen as effectively taking its first action in the direction of contributing to military efforts to stabilize the Strait of Hormuz.
The Ministry of National Defense announced on the 5th that it plans to submit to the National Assembly a motion to amend the extension of the deployment, which includes expanding the Cheonghae Unit's mission area and dispatching additional assets. The dispatch extension plan passed the vice-ministerial meeting on this day and is scheduled to be submitted to the National Assembly for approval next week after the Cabinet meeting and presidential approval.
The Cheonghae Unit is an overseas dispatched unit of the ROK Armed Forces that has been dispatched to the waters of the Gulf of Aden since 2009 to carry out anti-pirate operations and support safe convoy and safe navigation of ships.
In the existing troop deployment extension agreement, which remains in effect until the end of this year, the sea area where the Cheonghae unit is dispatched is specified as 'the waters around the Gulf of Aden and sea areas designated during emergency protection activities', and the gist of the new extension is to expand this to the open seas south of Oman.
Accordingly, it is reported that the Cheonghae Unit's mission area will double from the existing 600 nautical miles (about 1,100 km). The mission area extends to the southern end of Duqm Port in Oman, and the straight line distance from Duqm Port to the Strait of Hormuz is 350 nautical miles (approximately 650 km).
The Gulf of Oman, which borders the Strait of Hormuz, is not included in the expanded mission area.
The existing Cheonghae Unit's strength consists of one maritime operation helicopter, one 4,400-ton destroyer (DDH-II) equipped with up to three high-speed boats, and up to 320 personnel. The destroyer Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin (DDH-975), the 49th member of the Cheonghae Unit, departed port for a mission change on the 2nd of last month.
In addition, the plan is to dispatch additional unmanned minesweeping forces, including one of the latest naval maritime patrol aircraft, the P-8A Poseidon, an unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV), an unmanned surface vehicle (USV), and an underwater unmanned exploration vehicle (ROV), as well as an EOD team to operate them.
The number of dispatched personnel will also increase by 75, including 30 EOD personnel, including command staff, and 45 patrol aircraft operation personnel, including pilots, for a total of 395 personnel.
The newly dispatched P-8A patrol aircraft and unmanned minesweeping force plan to use Djibouti, East Africa, as their base. Djibouti is home to the U.S. Air Force Base Camp Le Monnier, and the U.S., Japan, Spain, and France are deploying patrol aircraft.
An official from the Ministry of National Defense said, “We plan to negotiate with Djibouti to ensure that assets can be dispatched as quickly as possible when the National Assembly agrees,” adding that it would take about three days to deploy a patrol aircraft, but “the condition is only if discussions with Djibouti are smoothly reached.”
The government cited the vacuum in international maritime power resulting from the conflict between Saudi Arabia and Yemen's pro-Iranian rebels Houthis in the Red Sea area and the resulting increase in pirate activities as the main reason for seeking to expand the mission and power of the Cheonghae Unit.
An official from the Ministry of National Defense said that pirate activities in the Gulf of Aden waters have increased by more than three times last year. “Taking advantage of the concentration of power in the Red Sea and Hormuz region, pirate activities are increasing and expanding to southern Oman.”
In this situation, he explained, “There is an operational effect of being able to search the entry area in advance with a maritime patrol aircraft and respond immediately if there is a vessel showing abnormal signs.”
The official emphasized that the Cheonghae Unit, whose mission has been expanded, will adhere to four principles: ▲ it will never participate in or intervene in war; ▲ the purpose of its dispatch is to protect our people and ships; ▲ it will limit maritime patrol aircraft's detection inside Iranian territory, territorial waters, or the Strait of Hormuz; and ▲ it will operate under Korea's independent command system. The command authority of the Cheonghae Unit is held by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the ROK Armed Forces.
However, the EOD team and unmanned minesweeping force are dispatched to prepare for participation in the future if a so-called 'permissive environment' is established in the Strait of Hormuz and the international community takes action to remove mines in this area.
In relation to this, the government added 'support for the restoration of freedom of navigation on international maritime transportation routes' as the mission of the Cheonghae Unit in the new dispatch extension plan to be submitted to the National Assembly.
An official from the Ministry of National Defense said, "When the environment is permissive and there is a request from the international community, the EOD team must be dispatched, but the unmanned (minesweeping) force we currently possess has very little accumulated knowledge or experience in utilizing equipment," and added, "We assessed that there is a need for deployment even at the level of preliminary preparation."
He explained that a 'permissive environment' is "either the end of the war between Iran and the US or the signing of an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) between Iran and the US, creating conditions for freedom of navigation operations to begin in the region."
In fact, the government believes that in order to deploy EOD units and unmanned minesweepers to the freedom of navigation operation in Hormuz, it is necessary to pass a new troop deployment agreement separate from this one.
A Ministry of National Defense official emphasized, “The priority (in this troop deployment extension) is clearly the Cheonghae Unit,” and added, “When the time comes (to participate in freedom of navigation operations), we will come up with a new troop deployment agreement.”
The dispatch period specified in this extension is from the time it is passed by the National Assembly until December 31 of next year. However, the government believes that once the local situation is resolved, additional dispatched assets may be withdrawn before the deadline.
