South Korea and Japan will resume joint maritime search and rescue exercises after a nine-year pause. Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back announced on May 30 that the drills will take place on June 7 following talks with his Japanese counterpart in Singapore.
Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back unveiled the plan during bilateral talks with Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue. The exercise will occur in international waters southeast of Jeju Island and involve the ROKS Cheon Ja Bong, Japan’s Kongo-class destroyer and a Japanese maritime patrol helicopter.
The biennial SAREX drills began in 1999 but were suspended after the tenth round in 2017. Relations had deteriorated following a December 2018 incident involving a Japanese patrol aircraft and a South Korean warship.
The two sides had agreed to restart the drills during meetings in June 2024 and January this year. Ahn called the resumption highly symbolic, while Koizumi stressed the necessity of cooperation for regional security.
