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BUSAN, South Korea, Sept 23 (Reuters) – A U.S. aircraft carrier arrived in South Korea on Friday for the first time in about four years, ready to join other military ships in a show of force aimed at sending a message to North Korea.
The USS Ronald Reagan and the ships of its accompanying strike group docked at a naval base in the southern port city of Busan ahead of joint exercises with South Korean forces.
Their arrival marks the largest deployment yet under a new push to have more US “strategic assets” operating in the area to deter North Korea.
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The commander of the strike group, Rear Admiral Michael Donnelly, told reporters aboard the ship that the visit was designed to build allied relationships and increase interoperability between the navies.
“We leave messages to the diplomats,” he said when asked about any signal to North Korea, but added that the joint exercises would ensure the allies could respond to all threats.
“It’s an opportunity for us to practice tactics and operations,” Donnelly said.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has pushed for more joint exercises and other displays of military power as a warning to North Korea, which has conducted a record number of missile tests this year and appears to be preparing to resume nuclear testing for the first time since then. 2017
North Korea has denounced previous US military deployments and joint exercises as war rehearsals and a test of hostile policies by Washington and Seoul. The drills have also sparked protests from peace activists who say they increase regional tensions.
Last week, the United States said the carrier’s visit was a “clear demonstration” of its commitment to deploy and exercise strategic assets to deter Pyongyang and improve regional security.
In announcing the visit, however, the US Navy made no mention of North Korea, referring only to a “regularly scheduled port visit” and emphasizing the crew members visiting Busan to provide -volunteer at orphanages and explore the K-pop music scene.
Officials declined to provide details of the upcoming joint drills, but said the carrier would be in port for “several days.” Within hours of the ship docking, long lines of crew members formed as they were tested for COVID-19 before being transported to the city.
A crew member, who asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to speak to the media, said they were hoping for a break but that geopolitical tensions are a constant presence.
“You can never forget what we’re here for,” the crew member told Reuters.
The visit is the first to South Korea by a US aircraft carrier since 2018. Since then, many exercises have been scaled back or canceled due to diplomatic efforts with North Korea or due to the pandemic the COVID-19.
The carrier’s visit is useful for political signaling, reassuring Seoul and training with South Korean forces, but is unlikely to further deter North Korea, said Mason Richey, a Hankuk University professor of foreign studies. in seoul
“A visit by a carrier group certainly does not do much, in fact it probably does the opposite, to deter Pyongyang from developing further nuclear weapons and delivery systems as well as conventional capabilities,” he said.
However, he emphasizes that under Yoon, allies see closer military coordination and interoperability as the best way to deal with North Korea, Richey added.
Questions have arisen about the role the roughly 28,500 US troops stationed in South Korea could play if a conflict breaks out over Taiwan.
Donnelly said those questions are for policymakers above him, but he said operating with like-minded allies like South Korea is a key part of the U.S. Navy’s efforts to maintain regional security and stability that has been around for over seven decades.
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Reporting by Josh Smith; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Gerry Doyle
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