Ministry of National Defense "Cheonghae Unit local commander's tactical control, temporary and limited authority"

On the 12th, the Ministry of National Defense explained the regulation requiring the Cheonghae Unit, which is seeking to expand its mission area to the open seas of southern Oman, to be under tactical control by the local commander rather than the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff when participating in 'international maritime security operations', as "a very limited authority that can only be exercised temporarily in a specific area."

Jeong Bit-na, spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, answered related questions as follows during the regular briefing on this day.

In the 'Agreement to amend the extension of the deployment of ROK military units to the Gulf of Aden waters in Somalia and the southern seas of Oman' submitted by the government to the National Assembly on the 10th, it was stated that, as a principle related to unit command authority, "when participating in international maritime security operations such as joint naval forces and the European Union (EU), the local commander has tactical control."

This phrase itself is the same as the existing dispatch extension motion submitted to the National Assembly in the past.

However, in this revised motion, a new clause was added to the Cheonghae Unit's mission to 'participate in international efforts to restore the safety of international maritime traffic routes and freedom of navigation', which raised the possibility that it would leave open the possibility of being involved in situations related to the Strait of Hormuz through participation in 'international maritime security operations'.

In relation to this, Spokesperson Jeong said, "This motion to amend the extension of the Cheonghae unit's deployment clearly states that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the ROK Armed Forces retains command of the unit. Contents related to international maritime security operations have been consistently included in the agreement to extend the deployment of the Cheonghae unit since the deployment of the Cheonghae unit in 2009, and were included last year as well."

He also added, "The mission area of ​​the Cheonghae Unit in the dispatch agreement is limited to the Gulf of Aden in Somalia and the southern seas of Oman," and added, "The commander of CTF (Combined Task Force)-151 (which carries out anti-piracy operations) under the Combined Naval Command has been a Korean military colonel since August of this year."

Regarding the Ministry of National Defense's position on this motion, Spokesperson Jeong repeatedly emphasized, "Following the firm principle of not engaging in war or combat, we will pursue the Cheonghae Unit to focus on its mission to protect our people and ships."