Gulf of Aden – Rear Adm. Harris Chan, Commander, Combined Task Force 151, was hosted on board ROKS Chungmugong Yi Sun-shin by Capt. Han Dong-Jin, Commander of the Korean Escort Task Group, May 31.

ROKS Chungmugong Yi Sun-shin is a Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN) warship whose key mission is to perform independent convoy escort of merchant vessels and conduct maritime security operations in the Gulf of Aden. Cdr. Adan Cruz, Commanding Officer of USS Mason, the CTF 151 flagship, was also part of the visiting delegation.

During the visit, Chan and Han shared their recent experiences in counter-piracy operations, and agreed on the importance of information sharing, as well as international cooperation and goodwill in ensuring the success of their missions. Han spoke about the ROKN’s seventh deployment to the Gulf of Aden and ROKS Chungmugong Yi Sun-shin’s second. He also reaffirmed the strong cooperation between the ROKN and CTF 151.

Chan expressed his appreciation of the ROKN’s contributions to counter-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden.
Agreeing to the ROKN’s operating slogan The seas make us one, Chan said “We will only be stronger if we worked together. With extensive cooperation and linkages amongst all the naval ships in the CMF area of operations that encompasses the Gulf of Aden, Somali Basin and the Arabian Sea, we will eventually stem the threat of piracy in this region”.

In addition to a ship tour, Chan also witnessed firsthand, the Chungmugong Yi Sun-shin’s crew carrying out convoy escort duties.

The visit to ROKS Chungmugong Yi Sun-shin is part of CTF 151’s Commander’s Engagement Programme. CTF 151 is a multi-national mission-based task force established by the Combined Maritime Forces in January 2009 to conduct counter-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden, Somali Basin and Arabian Sea. Singapore took over command of CTF 151 on March 31, 2011.