South Korea Mulls Extending Cheonghae Anti-Piracy Patrol to Gulf of Oman

Sources within the South Korean military indicate that the Ministry of National Defense will propose an expansion of the Cheonghae anti-piracy unit’s area of operations to cover the Gulf of Oman adjacent to the Strait of Hormuz. The unit, which has required annual parliamentary approval since its 2009 deployment in the Gulf of Aden, would need a new motion in the National Assembly to authorize the broader mandate. In addition to its existing four-thousand-400-ton-class destroyer, helicopter and speedboats, the ministry is reviewing the addition of a maritime patrol aircraft to boost surveillance capabilities.

The proposal is motivated by a recent uptick in piracy off Somalia and a request from Washington for South Korean naval presence in the strategic strait. President Lee Jae Myung reiterated that Seoul will avoid troop deployments that could draw it into the ongoing U.S.-Iran confrontation.