South Korea To Sent Fewer Destroyers To US-Led Drills Near Hawaii Due To COVID-19- Reports

SEOUL (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 24th May, 2020) South Korea is planning to send only two destroyers to the US-led RIMPAC (the Rim of the Pacific exercise) international maritime drills scheduled for August off the coast of the US state of Hawaii, as the biannual event will be held with reduced force due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Yonhap news agency reported on Sunday, citing a military source.

In late April, the US Navy said that the drills scheduled for August 17-31 and involving 25 countries would go ahead despite the pandemic. Nonetheless, the drills will be modified in 2020, as all land activities have been canceled.

According to the news agency, Seoul will send a 7,600-ton Aegis destroyer and a 4,400-ton destroyer to the drills aimed at enhancing joint operational capabilities for maritime security.

The news agency also reported that in 2018, along with destroyers, South Korea sent a submarine, a patrol plane and some 700 troops to the exercise, but such military assets would not be mobilized this year.

The month-long, biennial drills were held for the first time in 1971. Apart from the United States and Japan, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and South Korea regularly join the exercises in Hawaii.