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| China-Japan-Koreas |
| S. Korea-U.S. Anti-Submarine Drill Starts Next Week |
| 2010-06-01 |
| Seoul and Washington are expected to conduct a joint anti-submarine exercise on June 8, way ahead of their original schedule, as a response to the sinking of the Navy corvette Cheonan in March. The exercise had previously been scheduled for late June or early July. South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command on Tuesday said the two countries agreed to stage a massive joint anti-submarine exercise in the West Sea from June 8 until 11. Participating in the exercise will be the USS George Washington, a 97,000-ton nuclear-powered aircraft carrier of the Seventh U.S. Fleet, seven to eight Aegis cruisers and destroyers, and nuclear-powered submarines. The joint exercise is intended to send a warning to North Korea, a source said. It is also aimed at preventing further provocations from North Korea, which has made a series of threats over any punitive moves by the South including resumption of psychological warfare. The drill is to take place between the Taean Peninsula and Baeknyeong Island, with vessels traveling only up to waters near Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, for fear of possible protest from China. |
| Posted by:Steve White |