Frequent and realistic training with partners like South Korea, Japan, Australia, Taiwan, and the Philippines is important in order to bolster regional deterrence capability against China.
This week, the U.S. Navy linked up with its South Korean counterpart for a rare exercise designed to counter North Korean commandos—part of a wider series of maritime exercises in the Indo-Pacific.
South Korea’s Counter-Special Operations Exercise
According to the Navy, the one U.S. guided missile destroyer and eight South Korean surface combatants and submarines, supported by naval assets, trained in anti-submarine, anti-mine warfare, maritime communications, and dynamic coordinated maneuvering. The allied warships also reportedly drilled on their maritime counter-special operations skills.
A Maritime Counter-Special Operations Exercise is quite rare. It is rather odd that part of the exercise took place in open water, as the information released by the U.S. Navy and its South Korean counterpart suggests. Typically, maritime special operations have more to do with attacks on installations and using maritime assets for infiltration and exfiltration than with anything on open water.
Special operations forces can operate across all domains of warfare. In the maritime domain, these forces will typically use their training and expertise to create holes in enemy defenses or sink ships in port. For instance, the U.S. Navy SEALs—America’s premier maritime special operations unit—train regularly on how to infiltrate enemy port facilities and place specialized limpet mines on enemy warships and support vessels.
Other special operations units, like the U.S. Army’s Special Forces Regiment, colloquially known as the “Green Berets” or the U.S. Marine Corps’ Marine Raiders, will use the maritime domain as a means to an end rather than the end itself. For example, a Green Beret operational detachment trained as combat divers might use a submarine to infiltrate a non-permissive environment and link up with a local guerrilla force. Conversely, a SEAL platoon will use a submarine to approach an enemy port to place surveillance devices or attack enemy shipping.
Regular Exercises Help Enhance U.S.-South Korea Interoperability
Working with allies and partners is the best way for the U.S. Navy to be ready for actual combat against North Korea and even China in the Indo-Pacific.
“Enhancing proficiency at sea is a priority for our destroyers, and there’s no better way to do this than sailing with our Korean teammates,” U.S. Navy Capt. David Huljack, the Commanding officer of Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 15, said in a press release. “We will continue to seek opportunities to strengthen our ties and improve our collective maritime capabilities.”
DESRON 15 is the Navy’s largest guided-missile destroyer unit, with nine Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers—all of which are forward-deployed around the Indo-Pacific area of operations.
Frequent and realistic training with partners like South Korea, Japan, Australia, Taiwan, and the Philippines is important in order to bolster regional deterrence capability against China.
“The U.S. Navy regularly operates alongside our allies in the Indo-Pacific region as a demonstration of our shared commitment to upholding international law. Bilateral operations such as this one provide valuable opportunities to train, exercise and develop tactical interoperability across allied navies in the Indo-Pacific,” the Navy concluded about the combined operations with the South Korean military.
About the Author: Stavros Atlamazoglou
Stavros Atlamazoglou is a seasoned defense journalist specializing in special operations and a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ). He holds a BA from the Johns Hopkins University and an MA from the Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). His work has been featured in Business Insider, Sandboxx, and SOFREP.
Image: Shutterstock / Yeongsik Im.
