South Korea plans for military deployment in Strait of Hormuz amid US pressure
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "South Korea plans for military deployment in Strait of Hormuz amid US pressure")
Representative image. Photograph: (AFP (File Photo))
The government was preparing procedures to demand parliamentary approval for the deployment, that include submission of a consent motion to parliament this month following cabinet review.
South Korea is planning to station military assets in order to support freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz with focus to send them before the end of the year, several media reports confirmed on Thursday (September 3), citing government and military sources. The development after US President Donald Trump increased pressure on the Americans ally over its lack of support for the war with Iran.
Reports indicated that the government was preparing procedures to demand parliamentary approval for the deployment, that include submission of a consent motion to parliament this month following cabinet review. The government was weighing several among them dispatching a maritime patrol aircraft, a logistics support vessel, or a mine detection and clearance unit, and had held discussions on the size and scope of a potential contribution with nations including the United States, Britain, and France.
Freedom of navigation
South Korea's presidential Blue House stated that Seoul had been exploring practical avenues to contribute to freedom of navigation in the strait, however, clarified suggesting the government had finalised a deployment did not precisdiely reflect the situation.
In an August social media pos, US President Donald Trump stated that he had reduced US-South Korea joint military exercises partly because South Korea had refused to assist the US in the war conflct with Iran.
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"We are making concrete preparations to dispatch naval forces to the Strait of Hormuz," a National Defense Ministry official told Australia's broadcaster SBS.
The report indicated that the ongoing deployment consists of P-8 maritime patrol aircraft, an explosive ordnance disposal team, and a logistics support ship. South Korea's government had earlier stated that it would only move forward with a deployment to the strait once the conflict between the US and Iran had come to an end.
