US-Japan-South Korea missile defense drills; China launches new destroyer?

The US-Japan-South Korea exercise will focus on real-time detection and tracking of North Korean missile launches.

The US, Japan and South Korea have increased their defense exercises in recent times. Photo: From left to right: Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer Atago, US Navy destroyer USS Barry and South Korean Navy destroyer Sejong Daewang participate in a joint exercise in the Sea of ​​Japan, August 29. (Source: AFP/Jiji)

On August 29, South Korean officials said that the country, the US and Japan have launched a trilateral missile defense exercise in international waters south of Jeju Island, South Korea.

Accordingly, the latest training content has the participation of 3 destroyers equipped with the Aegis system - ROKS Yulgok Yi I of the host country, USS Benfold from the US and JS Haguro of the Japan Coast Guard.

The exercise will focus on practicing computer-simulated target detection and tracking and information sharing related to North Korean ballistic missiles.

The exercise will also test information sharing as part of efforts to operate a real-time North Korean missile warning data sharing system among the three countries later this year, a content reaffirmed by the leaders at the US-Japan-South Korea Summit earlier this month.

The incident occurred shortly after Pyongyang launched a Chollima-1 rocket carrying the Maligyong-1 reconnaissance satellite, but failed on August 24. This was North Korea's second failed satellite launch this year.

In related news, the SCMP newspaper reported on August 28 that China appears to have launched its first Type 054A guided-missile destroyer, a faster, more powerful version of the current Type 054A warship.

Accordingly, images from the state-owned naval shipyard in Shanghai circulated on Chinese social media platforms show that the next-generation ship not only uses the advanced phased array radar system of the final Type 054A class, but also possesses the stealthy superstructure of the Type 055, the most powerful destroyer of the Chinese Navy.

A recent photo on China's Sina Weibo blog shows that the new ship has been launched at the Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard, a Shanghai-based subsidiary of the China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC).

CSSC has yet to announce the launch date of the 054B, but another photo shows the frigate draped in red flags reminiscent of the Chinese national flag, suggesting Beijing could hold an official ceremony soon.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/my-nhat-han-tap-tran-phong-thu-ten-lua-trung-quoc-ra-mat-tau-khu-truc-moi-240084.html