Top naval commanders of South Korea, the United States and Japan gathered in Seoul on Wednesday for talks to strengthen trilateral maritime security cooperation, South Korea's Navy said. The meeting included Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Kim Kyung-ryul, U.S. Pacific Fleet Commander Adm. Stephen Koehler and Adm. Akira Saito, chief of staff of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, who held bilateral talks and a trilateral dinner. The discussions occurred amid Middle East tensions and U.S. requests for support in the Strait of Hormuz.
South Korea's Navy said top naval commanders from South Korea, the United States and Japan met in Seoul on April 15 for bilateral talks and a trilateral dinner to strengthen maritime security cooperation. The participants were Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Kim Kyung-ryul, U.S. Pacific Fleet Commander Adm. Stephen Koehler and Adm. Akira Saito, chief of staff of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.
In the bilateral talks, Adm. Kim and Adm. Koehler exchanged views on the robust South Korea-U.S. combined defense posture and cooperation in naval maintenance, repair and operations. Adm. Kim and Adm. Saito discussed expanding personnel exchanges and resuming joint maritime search and rescue exercises (SAREX), as agreed in a ministerial meeting earlier this year between Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back and his Japanese counterpart Shinjiro Koizumi. The SAREX drills will resume for the first time in nine years.
During the trilateral meeting, the three sides shared perspectives on the Pacific maritime security environment and ways to enhance cooperation, including responses to North Korea's maritime advancements such as its 5,000-ton destroyer Choe Hyon and tests of strategic cruise and anti-ship missiles.
The meetings took place amid heightened Middle East tensions, including a U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports. U.S. President Donald Trump had called on South Korea, Japan and others to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz to secure shipping lanes, fueling speculation on whether the talks addressed the issue.
