South Korea Doubles Cheonghae Patrol Area Near Hormuz and Pushes Wartime Command Transfer
South Korea’s government said on Nov. 5 it will expand the patrol area of its Cheonghae anti-piracy unit in waters off Africa and the Middle East to about twice its current size and send additional forces, including a maritime patrol aircraft and minesweeping equipment. The move reaches waters south of Oman’s Duqm port, about 650 kilometers from the Strait of Hormuz.
The Defense Ministry said it prepared an amendment to the deployment extension consent for the unit, which passed a vice-ministerial meeting on Nov. 5. It will go through Cabinet review and presidential approval next week before being submitted to the National Assembly. If approved, the new mission would run through Dec. 31, 2027.
The Cheonghae Unit has operated in the Gulf of Aden since 2009, protecting South Korean ships from pirates with a 4,400-ton destroyer, a helicopter and fast boats and up to 320 personnel. Under the amendment, the patrol radius grows from about 600 nautical miles to about double that, and a P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, an explosive ordnance disposal team and unmanned minesweeping equipment, including unmanned underwater and surface vessels, will be added. Troops rise by 75 to a maximum of 395, and the new assets will be based in Djibouti.
The government said piracy around the Gulf of Aden has more than tripled from last year, as international naval forces concentrated in the Red Sea and around the Strait of Hormuz amid military tensions in the Middle East. The ministry also noted that more than 70 percent of South Korea’s crude oil shipments pass through the Strait of Hormuz, tying the mission to energy security.
The amendment also adds a new mission phrase for the first time since the 2009 deployment, supporting the restoration of freedom of navigation on international sea lanes. That wording points to possible participation in minesweeping operations in the Strait of Hormuz after a war between the United States and Iran ends, though the government stressed the amendment itself is not participation.
The limits are explicit. The expanded area stops at waters south of Duqm and does not include the Gulf of Oman next to the Strait of Hormuz. The government set four principles, no involvement in war, protection of South Korean nationals and ships, no patrol aircraft surveillance inside Iranian territory or waters or inside the strait, and an independent South Korean command chain under the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Minesweeping in the strait would require a separate consent from the National Assembly, and only after the war ends or the risk of conflict is controlled by agreement.
The decision has drawn criticism. Civic groups and progressive parties call the expansion a de facto deployment toward a war zone and warn that South Korean troops could be drawn into a conflict between the United States and Iran. The Democratic Party, which holds a majority in the National Assembly, views the measure as a mission-area expansion rather than a new deployment, and passage is considered likely.
Iran has not yet issued a formal response to the Nov. 5 announcement. But Tehran, which has been at war with the United States since February, warned Seoul in advance. In September, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei issued a statement in Korean warning that participation in military operations near the strait could have serious consequences, while saying Iran attaches great importance to its friendly relations with South Korea. Foreign Minister Cho Hyeon also spoke with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi about the safety of navigation through the strait. How Tehran will read the buildup remains the biggest open question. The new forces are confined to waters south of Oman, but a patrol aircraft and minesweeping equipment could be seen as stronger military surveillance and sea control, not just anti-piracy work.
The United States has also not issued a formal response to the announcement. But the move follows months of pressure from Washington. President Donald Trump has asked allies since March to send warships to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, and in August he scaled back joint military exercises with South Korea, citing dissatisfaction that Seoul was not contributing to operations. In May, the U.S. military announced Project Freedom, a mission with destroyers, more than 100 aircraft and about 15,000 personnel to restore commercial navigation through the strait. Seoul’s answer follows the pattern of 2020, when South Korea widened the Cheonghae Unit’s area rather than formally joining a U.S.-led coalition. Analysts describe the expansion as a signal rather than a settled outcome, and whether Washington considers it enough remains to be seen. The next test is a defense ministers’ meeting in December.
The expansion comes as Seoul is pressing ahead with the transfer of wartime operational control from the United States. National security adviser Wi Sung-lac said on Oct. 30 that South Korea and the United States completed the full operational capability assessment, the test of whether South Korea’s military can lead combined wartime operations, during this year’s Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise. He said he expects substantive results at a defense ministers’ meeting in December and at the Security Consultative Meeting early next year.
What happens next depends on the National Assembly’s consent and consultations with Djibouti, and the government said the extra assets could be withdrawn early if the security situation stabilizes. The next markers are the Cabinet review next week and the December defense ministers’ meeting.