South Korea plans to expand anti-piracy operations closer to Hormuz Strait

Seoul proposes expanding its Cheonghae unit’s operational areas to waters adjacent Duqm successful Oman amid unit from US to enactment warfare connected Iran.

South Korea plans to grow its anti-piracy patrols disconnected the seashore of Somalia to waters person to the Strait of Hormuz, the Ministry of National Defense said, pursuing unit from the United States to supply enactment for the warfare connected Iran.

The authorities volition inquire the National Assembly to widen the mandate of the Cheonghae unit, a naval task unit owed to expire astatine the extremity of 2026, a Defence Ministry spokesperson told the Reuters quality bureau connected Thursday. The petition would besides widen the unit’s country of operations to waters adjacent the larboard of Duqm successful Oman, astir 650km (403 miles) from the Strait of Hormuz.

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The question volition spell to lawmakers aft the furniture endorses it adjacent week, the Yonhap quality bureau reported.

The Cheonghae portion has patrolled the Gulf of Aden since 2009 to support commercialized shipping. Its latest contingent sailed from South Korea’s Busan connected October 2 connected committee the Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin, a 4,400-tonne destroyer carrying a maritime chopper and astir 300 work members.

Under the caller mandate, the portion would propulsion northeast into the Arabian Sea southbound of Oman, astir doubling its operating radius to astir 1,930km (1,200 miles), officials told Yonhap.

It would adhd 75 personnel, including a weaponry disposal team, and a P-8A maritime patrol craft to assistance show shipping routes.

Officials told Yonhap the ngo would beryllium strictly noncombat and the portion would stay nether South Korean command, operating independently of allied forces.

“The enhancement of the Cheonghae unit’s ngo is to support our citizens and safeguard our economical interests,” a defence official, speaking connected information of anonymity, told Yonhap.

“Operations volition stay restricted to the unfastened waters southbound of Oman, and the maritime patrol craft volition beryllium prohibited from targeting oregon monitoring Iranian territory, territorial waters oregon the interior of the Strait of Hormuz during their missions,” helium said.

The latest connection follows unit from US President Donald Trump for Seoul to enactment Washington’s warfare connected Iran.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung pledged successful April to assistance safeguard shipping during talks led by the United Kingdom and France. In September, helium said helium would debar immoderate deployment that could gully South Korea into the war.

Opposition lawmakers person argued against an enlargement of the Cheonghae unit’s mission.

“Expanding the Cheonghae unit’s operational country amounts to a unit deployment,” Kim Joon-hyung, the level person of the tiny left-leaning Rebuilding Korea Party, said astatine a quality league astatine the National Assembly successful Seoul connected Wednesday.

“It is not a clever solution but a deceptive workaround.”

Kim warned that an expanded ngo could exposure South Korean forces to Iranian retaliation, adjacent if Seoul insisted that its unit would not instrumentality portion successful combat.

“If President Donald Trump boasts that South Korea was the archetypal state successful the satellite to dispatch troops, we would go the archetypal state to articulation the Middle East war,” helium said.