The Cabinet meeting decided to 'expand the Cheonghae unit's operational area'... Submission procedure to the National Assembly

At the Cabinet meeting chaired by President Lee Jae-myung at the Blue House on the 10th, a motion to amend the extension of the deployment, which included expanding the mission area of ​​the Cheonghae Unit and dispatching additional assets, was reviewed.

The agenda will be submitted to the National Assembly after receiving President Lee's approval and undergo the legislative approval process.

The motion includes expanding the mission area of ​​the Cheonghae Unit, which protects merchant ships in the Gulf of Aden waters in Somalia, to the southern waters of Oman, closer to the Strait of Hormuz, and dispatching 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.

In particular, some say that this measure is the first to contribute to military efforts to stabilize the Strait of Hormuz.

However, criticism is also being raised by minor political parties in the ruling party, including the Fatherland Innovation Party, and some civic groups, that this may be a 'diversionary dispatch of troops'.

When Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Byeong-ju asked about his position on these comments at the National Defense Committee of the National Assembly the day before, Minister of National Defense Kang Shin-cheol said, "I clearly stated the principle of non-involvement and non-interference in war."