South Korea plans to expand anti-piracy operations closer to Hormuz Strait
South Korea plans to expand its anti-piracy patrols off the coast of Somalia to waters closer to the Strait of Hormuz, following pressure from the United States to support the war on Iran.
The government will ask the National Assembly to extend the mandate of the Cheonghae unit, a naval task force due to expire at the end of 2026. The request would also widen the unit's area of operations to waters near the port of Duqm in Oman, about 650km (403 miles) from the Strait of Hormuz.
Expanded Operations
The Cheonghae unit has patrolled the Gulf of Aden since 2009 to protect commercial shipping. Its latest contingent sailed from South Korea's Busan on October 2 on board the Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin, a 4,400-tonne destroyer carrying a maritime helicopter and about 300 service members.
Under the new mandate, the unit would push northeast into the Arabian Sea south of Oman, roughly doubling its operating radius to about 1,930km (1,200 miles). It would add 75 personnel, including a bomb disposal team, and a P-8A maritime patrol aircraft to help monitor shipping routes.
Noncombat Mission
Officials told Yonhap the mission would be strictly noncombat and the unit would remain under South Korean command, operating independently of allied forces.
The enhancement of the Cheonghae unit's mission is to protect our citizens and safeguard our economic interests.
The official emphasized that operations would remain restricted to open waters south of Oman, and the maritime patrol aircraft would be prohibited from targeting or monitoring Iranian territory, territorial waters or the interior of the Strait of Hormuz during missions.
Political Opposition
The latest proposal follows pressure from US President Donald Trump for Seoul to support Washington's war on Iran. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung pledged in April to help safeguard shipping during talks led by the United Kingdom and France, but in September said he would avoid any deployment that could draw South Korea into the war.
If President Donald Trump boasts that South Korea was the first country in the world to dispatch troops, we would become the first country to join the Middle East war.
Opposition lawmakers have argued against an expansion of the Cheonghae unit's mission. Kim Joon-hyung, the floor leader of the small left-leaning Rebuilding Korea Party, claimed expanding the operational area amounts to a troop deployment and warned it could expose South Korean forces to Iranian retaliation.
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