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Newsweek
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Newsweek
US and Ally Stage Naval Drills in Warning to North Korea
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The United States and South Korea wrapped up a four-day series of naval drills Sunday amid mounting tensions with North Korea's Kim Jong Un regime. Newsweek reached out to the North Korean embassy in Beijing and the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command via email for comment. Why It Matters North-South relations are at their lowest point in decades as Pyongyang pushes ahead with its ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programs. Kim's decision to send thousands of troops to fight alongside Russian forces in Ukraine has only escalated the standoff. The 41-year-old leader has cited Seoul's growing military ties with Washington, and increasingly, with Tokyo, as justification for his nuclear arsenal, saying it's needed to defend against these "provocations." What To Know South Korea's Yonhap News Agency cited officials as saying the U.S. and South Korea's Thursday-to-Sunday drills, collectively known as the Maritime Counter Special Operations Exercise (MCSOFEX), were aimed at strengthening the allies' ability to counter simultaneous attacks. The exercise featured simulated operations across multiple domains of warfare, including scenarios involving North Korean forces infiltrating across the de facto maritime border, and drills focused on simulated surface, submarine and aerial attacks. Other elements focused on intercepting drones and countering proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer the USS William P. Lawrence conducts a drill with South Korea's Navy as part of the allies' Maritime Counter Special Operations Exercise in early May 2025. Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer the USS William P. Lawrence conducts a drill with South Korea's Navy as part of the allies' Maritime Counter Special Operations Exercise in early May 2025. Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Gavin Arnold Hendershot/U.S. Navy Participating U.S. forces included the Arleigh-Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS William P. Lawrence and a maritime patrol aircraft, according to South Korean naval officials. South Korea contributed roughly 10 aircraft and 10 warships, including the destroyer ROKS Yulgok Yi I. As the drills got underway Thursday, North Korea fired multiple ballistic missiles over the Sea of Japan, in what South Korean military officials said may have been a demonstration intended to promote foreign arms sales. Last month, Pyongyang conducted the first test-firing of its largest warship, a 459-foot-long destroyer it said was equipped with the "most powerful weapons. What People Are Saying The U.S. Navy wrote in a statement: "MCSOFEX is a high profile exercise focused on readiness and shaping the maritime domain to achieve both U.S. and ROK cooperation objectives." North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency wrote Sunday: "The U.S. and its vassal states are staging a series of nuclear operation drills on the Korean peninsula and in its vicinity after making a nuclear war against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea a fait reckless act of aggravating the situation requires that the armed forces of the DPRK maintain a rapid reaction capability and thoroughgoing war posture." What Happens Next The U.S., South Korea, and Japan are likely to continue strengthening defense ties, prompting further North Korean demonstrations of displeasure. Officials from the three countries pledged to "continue to maintain the momentum of trilateral security cooperation" during the latest meeting of their Defense Trilateral Talks Working Group in Seoul in late April.
Korea Herald
11-05-2025
- General
- Korea Herald
S. Korean, US navies stage joint drills in East Sea
The South Korean and US navies have concluded four days of joint naval drills in the East Sea in the latest move to enhance their ability to counter simultaneous enemy attacks, officials said Sunday. The drills, which were held from Thursday to Sunday, involved about 10 South Korean naval ships, including the 7,600-ton ROKS Yulgok Yi I destroyer, and around 10 aircraft. From the US side, the USS William P. Lawrence guided-missile destroyer and a maritime patrol plane participated, according to the South Korean Navy. The sailors from both countries conducted training scenarios meant to ensure an immediate and effective response to multi-domain threats, including enemy attacks at sea, underwater and in the air. The joint maneuvers also included operations to repel North Korean special forces in a simulated infiltration across the Northern Limit Line, the de facto maritime border between the two Koreas. Additionally, an underwater exercise was carried out to detect, track and engage an enemy submarine. The training also focused on intercepting hostile drones, responding to localized provocations and preventing the maritime proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the Navy said. (Yonhap)
South China Morning Post
25-04-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
China's military identifies US and Japanese destroyers as ‘enemy vessels'
The People's Liberation Army has explicitly identified the US Arleigh Burke-class destroyer and Japan's Atago-class destroyer as enemy targets in an information display for the navy's open day. Advertisement The unprecedented peacetime move coincided with the USS William P. Lawrence – an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer – transiting through the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday. It was noticed by a visitor in Taizhou, Zhejiang province who was aboard a Nanjing Type 052D guided-missile destroyer – part of the PLA Navy's Eastern Theatre Command whose main role is to defend the Taiwan Strait. The visitor posted a photo of the display on social media that has since been widely circulated. 'The YJ-18A anti-ship missile is a new vertically launched, long-range cruise missile now deployed by the navy,' the display read. Advertisement 'It can strike large and medium-sized enemy surface vessels such as the US Arleigh Burke-class and Japan's Atago-class destroyers using supersonic trajectories, possessing a high penetration probability and accuracy, significantly enhancing the PLA Navy's maritime dominance capabilities.'
NHK
25-04-2025
- Politics
- NHK
US Navy guided-missile destroyer sails through Taiwan Strait
The US military says one of its guided-missile destroyers has sailed through the Taiwan Strait. The move comes at a time of escalating trade friction between the US and China. The US Indo-Pacific command told NHK that the USS William P. Lawrence destroyer conducted a routine Taiwan Strait transit on Wednesday. The command spokesperson said the transit was an action to protect the freedom of navigation in the Strait. The spokesperson added that the US "rejects any assertion of sovereignty or jurisdiction that is inconsistent with freedoms of navigation, overflight, and other lawful uses of the sea and air." China reacted sharply. A spokesperson for the military's Eastern Theater Command said in a statement that China has been monitoring the passage of the US vessel. The spokesperson said the US remarks have been distorting the facts and misleading international perception. He said the US should stop the hype and work together to protect the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait. This is the first time that a US Navy vessel has sailed through the Taiwan Strait since February and the second time since President Donald Trump began his second term. As trade friction with China intensifies, the Trump administration is apparently keeping the country in check as Beijing continues to step up its military pressure with the aim of unification with Taiwan.
The Sun
24-04-2025
- Politics
- The Sun
China military says it monitored US warship in Taiwan Strait
BEIJING: China's military said on Thursday that it had dispatched naval and air forces to monitor and warn a U.S. guided missile destroyer that sailed through the sensitive Taiwan Strait. The U.S. Navy, occasionally accompanied by ships from allied countries, transits the strait about once a month. China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory, says the strategic waterway belongs to it. China held its latest round of war games around Taiwan earlier this month, drawing condemnation from Taipei and concern from the United States and its allies. The Eastern Theatre Command of China's People's Liberation Army named the ship as the guided-missile destroyer USS William P. Lawrence, and said it passed through the strait on Wednesday in an act of 'public hyping'. 'Relevant remarks by the United States have inverted right and wrong, distorted legal principles, confused the public and misled international perception,' the command said in a statement, without specifying which comments it was referring to. 'We are telling the United States to stop their distortions and hyping and to work together to maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.' The command also published a short video on its social media account of a Chinese navy sailor observing the U.S. warship with a pair of binoculars from a distance. It did not give an exact location for the encounter. The U.S. Navy did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Its last publicly announced sailing through the strait was in February. (Reporting by Beijing Newsroom; Additional reporting and writing by Ben Blanchard in Taipei; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Aidan Lewis)
