US Navy Conducts Bilateral Drill with Japan and Korea
U.S. Navy ships are conducting simultaneous bilateral maritime exercises with the Republic of Korea Navy and with the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force today and tomorrow (April 25-26, local time). The destroyers USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG 108) and ROKN Wang Geon (DDH 978) are conducting combined maritime exercises in waters west of the Korean Peninsula while the destroyers USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62) and JMSDF JS Chokai (DDG 176) execute combined maritime exercises in waters west of Japan. Both exercises demonstrate a shared commitment to security and stability in Northeast Asia as well as the U.S. Navy's inherent flexibility to combine with allied naval forces in response to a broad range of situations.
Task Force Brings Somali Pirate Tankship Attackers to Book
The Combined Maritime Forces operation was co-ordinated from the British Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessel 'Fort Victoria' with support from Australian ship HMAS Melbourne, South Korean destroyer ROKS Wang Geon, European Union flagship HNLMS Johan de Witt and a Seychelles-based maritime patrol aircraft from Luxembourg. The task force had been searching for the pirates since they attacked and exchanged gunfire with the supertanker âIsland Splendorâ on Friday, 11 October 2013. Three days later a Spanish fishing vessel was also attacked by what was suspected to be the same pirates.