Japan and South Korea Resume Joint Search-and-Rescue Training

Overview

• The two navies carried out a joint search-and-rescue exercise on June 7, marking the first bilateral SAREX since December 2017.
• Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force said the drill took place west of the Goto Islands while the Republic of Korea Navy reported it occurred southeast of Jeju, reflecting a difference in official location statements.
• The training involved the JMSDF Aegis destroyer Kongo and the ROKN landing ship Cheonjabong, and both sides described the activity as humanitarian search-and-rescue work.
• Defense ministers from Tokyo and Seoul agreed in January to revive unit-level exchanges and confirmed timing at a May meeting in Singapore, leading to this scheduled June exercise.
• The resumption follows strained ties after a December 2018 radar-illumination incident and could open the way for more routine ship-to-ship and crew-level cooperation that affects rescue readiness and regional coordination.