SASEBO NAVAL BASE, Japan — The U.S. military confirmed Wednesday that it will begin a joint anti-submarine exercise with South Korea in the Yellow Sea on Sunday.
The naval exercise is scheduled to take place through Sept. 9 and will include two U.S. Aegis-class destroyers and a U.S. submarine as well as South Korean naval forces, a U.S. military official said.
Names of participating ships were not provided.
The USS George Washington, however, will not be involved in the anti-submarine exercise, though the U.S. plans to continue operating the aircraft carrier in the Yellow Sea despite protests from China and North Korea, according to the military. China is currently holding live-ammunition drills off its coast in the Yellow Sea that are scheduled to last through Saturday. Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua described the drills as routine training.
The Yellow Sea, known as the West Sea to Koreans, lies between China and the Korean peninsula.
The joint anti-submarine drill could send yet another strong message to North Korea, which has been accused of the March 26 sinking of the South Korean patrol ship Cheonan. The explosion killed 46 sailors.
North Korea repeatedly has denied involvement in the incident.
In July, the U.S. and South Korea made a joint show of force with a sea exercise that included 20 ships and submarines, 200 aircraft and 8,000 servicemembers.
The upcoming drill, which is relatively small in comparison, does not require the capabilities of the aircraft carrier, the military said.
Meanwhile, the military said the exercise is not expected to be delayed or interrupted by Typhoon Kompasu, which was moving through the region Wednesday.
