Choenan Navy Ship Sinking Mystery: Due to Key Resove War Drill?

* Image source: New York Times, March 27, 2010

* Image source: Hankyoreh, March 29, 2010

'The illustration shows the layout and probable chain of events of Patrol Combat Corvette (PCC) Cheonan.

Most of the officers in the officers quarters located in the front of the PCC were rescued, while many sailors in the sailors quarters in the stern of the PCC are among those who are missing. From the left, 1. warehouse 2. powder magazine 3. bridge of the ship 4. combat intelligence center 5. fuel tank 6. gas turbine room 7. diesel engine room 8. powder magazine and sleeping quarters

(located between numbers 2 and 4, and between numbers 7 and 8)'

* Image source: Korea Times, March 29, 2010

* Image source: Korea Report, March 29, 2010

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1. Sinking Mystery: Due to the US-SK Key Resolve War-Drill?

The Korea Report blog reported on March 29, 2010 in the article of of South Korean's Choenan Navy Ship Sinking Mystery. It says:

"While the search for the missing 46 Korean sailors continues (as families of the missing eagerly wait for the search results), the mystery over the sinking of South Korean naval ship Choenan [on March 26, 2010] is intensifying. No definitive cause of the sinking has been identified. The South Korean government initially downplayed any possible North Korea's involvement, but now suggests a possibility of North Korean mine, or a mine left over from the Korean War. This is unlikely as the location of the sinking took place south of a South Korean island that is near the disputed sea border with North Korea. And it is more unlikely that Korean War-era mine could have created a blast severe enough to break the large 1200-ton Choenan in half.

* CFC Commander General Walter Sharp said Sunday that just as Cheong Wa Dae announced, the U.S. military did not detect any unusual movements from the North Korean military, viewing the possibility that the incident was caused by a North Korean provocation as low.

(Hankyoreh, March 29, 2010)

Some observers are asking why Choenan, a large ship, was sailing in the part of the West Sea (Yellow Sea) where the water is shallow and currents are rapid. Usually, small and fast boats patrol this area. Could this have been a result of an accident during a military exercise in the area? The South Korean government has not been forthcoming with definitive information on the incident, further fueling doubts and uncertainties. Because this incident took place near the disputed sea border with North Korea, it highlights the dangers of unresolved issues of the Korean War, which is still technically not over (due to the lack of formal peace treaty ending it)."

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2. Search and Rescue Operation with Aegis Destroyers and Cruisers

During the Key Resolve War Drill?

Meanwhile the Korea Times reported on March 29, 2010

Korea, US Mount Largest Joint Rescue Operations
By Park Si-soo, Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporters

A U.S. Navy group of four ships ― three warships and one salvage vessel ― have joined South Korea's rescue and recovery operations for its sunken frigate, the Cheonan.

Their presence has made the latest operation the biggest of its kind.

A total of 22 salvage ships, destroyers and cruisers from the two allies are participating.

Helicopters conducted searches over the presumed scene of the sinking, marked by buoys.

Navy and civilian divers plunged into near-freezing water in a desperate effort to search for survivors, whose chances of survival are growing slim.

Kim Yong-kyu, spokesman for the U.S. Forces in Korea (USFK), provided information on the U.S. Navy's participation in operation.

The spokesman said its participation was made at the request of South Korean authorities.

The four U.S. ships belong to the U.S. 7th Fleet, based just south of Tokyo.

"They were participating in Key Resolve/Foal Eagle Exercise, a joint Korea-U.S. military drill which will continue until the end of April," the spokesman added.

Among the four is the 3,200-ton rescue-and-salvage ship USS Salvor that carries 16 skilled divers and equipment that makes it possible for divers to reach sunken ships under extreme conditions. Rapid currents and poor underwater visibility have blocked Korean navy divers from locating the split hull of the warship or finding any missing sailors.

The 8,300-ton destroyer USS Cultis Wilvur, 9,600-ton cruiser USS Shiloh and 9,200-ton destroyer USS Lassen also joined the operation, according to the USFK.

Scores of ROK Navy ships have already been dispatched to the scene.

"All available warships and support vessels from the 2nd Fleet in Pyeongtaek are participating in the search-and-rescue operations," Cmdr. Bae Myeong-woo said.

Participating ships include the 3,000-ton Gwangyang rescue vessel and two 730-ton minesweepers ― Yangyang and Ongjin.

The 86-meter-long Gwangyang is specialized for recovering sunken ships. It is equipped with deep-sea diving equipment to reach 91 meters deep, a crane and lifting bags.

The minesweepers are used in detecting sea mines or ship wreckage with the help of sonar equipment.

A Navy's Landing Ship, Tank (LST) transport vessel is also participating.

Later in the day, the 14,000-ton Dokdo Landing Platform Helicopter (LPH 6111), the largest helicopter transporter in Asia, arrived at the site.

The 199-meter-long large-deck landing ship, commissioned in 2007, not only serves as a light aircraft carrier but also is used in international peacekeeping and disaster relief.

pss@koreatimes.co.kr
gallantjung@koreatimes.co.kr

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3. Psychological Warfare Near the Disputed Border of DMZ?

Meanwhile, the Stars and Stripes reported on March 29, 2010 under the title of "NKorea accuses South of psychological warfare"

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- North Korea warned the U.S. and South Korea on Monday of deadly consequences for engaging in "psychological warfare" by allowing journalists into the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone dividing the two Koreas.

The stern statement was the first from North Korea's military since a South Korean naval ship sank in the tense waters near the Koreas' maritime border under unclear circumstances. It made no mention of the ship, submerged off the South Korean island of Baengnyeong as the mission to rescue 46 missing seamen continued.

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4. Spy of the Families of Missing Soldiers?

The Korean article, Sisa Jeju reported on March 29, 2010. Below is the summary (arbitrary translation)

[Pyeongtaek=Newsis] As it was revealed that the police have committed the intelligence activities through infiltrating the policemen inside the 2nd Fleet Command Headquarter, Pyeongteak, Gyunggi province, where the families of the missing soldiers have stayed right after the incident of the sunken Choenan navy ship, it has created the ripples.

The families, after confirming that the strange men inside the facilities were police, were infuriated as saying that the police were nothing but the spy who reported the activities of families in real time.

The police personnel excused that the military has also known their presence inside the buildings.

What was the need of spy for the families of the missing soldiers? What are the truths that the police, military and government want to hide?

Text Fwd: Construction-Planned Jeju Naval Base, for the 1st South Korean strategic Mobile Fleet?

* Image source: Yonhap News

S. Korea activates high-mobility combat unit
Feb. 1, SEOUL, South Korea -- South Korea on Feb. 1 activated its first high-mobility naval fleet, led by an Aegis destroyer. The fleet aims to secure safe sea lanes for South Korean commercial ships and better protect the country from hostile forces, including North Korea. (Photo courtesy of Navy) (Yonhap)

* Image source: Yonhap News
'Feb. 1, SEOUL, South Korea -- Seen is a 6,700-ton Aegis destropyer "Sejong the Great" that remains docked at the southern port of Busan. The state-of-the-art naval vessel is the centerpiece of South Korea's first high-mobility naval fleet that was activated on Feb. 1. (Yonhap) (END)'

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The Sisa Jeju article on Feb. 1, under the title of “Jeju Naval Base, ‘ Civilian-military Complex Tourism Beauty Harbor? [or] Main Military Center? Says:

The ‘7th Mobile Fleet’, the first South Korean strategic fleet, with the most-advanced large size war ships are planned to be deployed in the construction-planned Jeju naval base and the southern sea area of the Jeju island will be one of the main activity areas of the 7th Mobile Fleet, as well.
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Korea Times
02-01-2010 17:54
Navy Activates 1st strategic Mobile Fleet
By Jung Sung-ki, Staff Reporter

The Navy inaugurated Monday its first Aegis destroyer-led squadron Monday in an effort to develop its blue-water operational capability beyond coastal defense.

The inauguration ceremony of the 7th Mobile Fleet which will be made up of two squadrons took place at the Naval Operations Command in Busan, the Navy said in a news release.

Each squadron consists of a 7,600-ton KDX-II Sejong the Great-class Aegis destroyer and three 4,500-ton KDX-II destroyers.

The second KDX-III destroyer, Yi I, will be delivered to the Navy in August after sea trials.
The Navy plans to launch one more Aegis ship by 2012.

Six 5,600-ton mini-Aegis KDX-IIA destroyers, which will be built and operational between 2019 and 2026, will also join the squadrons.

The mobile fleet will be backed by 1,800-ton submarines, frigates, P3-C maritime patrol aircraft and Lynx anti-submarine helicopters, when it conducts operations to secure sea lanes and defend against a possible North Korean invasion, among others, the Navy said.

The squadrons will be based at the Busan operations command and a naval base in Jinhae, South Gyeongsang Province, it said.

A forward-deployed naval base to be built on the southern island of Jeju by 2014 will serve as the home port for the mobile fleet.

"The establishment of this mobile fleet heralds the ROK Navy's development into a blue-water force," Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jung Ok-keun said in his speech during the ceremony. "As a rapid deployment force ranking with naval powers in the world, the fleet will support national policies and interests by perfectly completing missions assigned."

The fleet is scheduled to participate in combined or multinational maritime exercises, including the annual Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC), which will be held in waters off Hawaii, from this year.

During RIMPAC, in particular, the Sejong the Great KDX-III destroyer will test-fire ship-to-air SM-2 Block IIIA/B Tactical Standard Missiles for the first time as part of Aegis combat system ship qualification trails (CSSQT) with allied nations, Navy officials said.

CSSQT is a series of at-sea exercises and tests to verify whether shipboard combat and weapon systems have been installed properly, and can be operated and maintained safely and effectively by the crew. (gallantjung@koreatimes.co.kr)