Below is an old article about South Korea testing its Aegis destroyer in Hawai’i during the RIMPAC exercises this summer. Bruce Gagnon wrote this about the article:
This is an indication that the South Korean Navy is now being fully integrated into the command structure of the U.S. Navy and that the Aegis destroyers that would be deployed at the proposed base on Jeju Island will in fact be a part of the larger U.S. military strategy of surrounding China’s coastal region in order to create the ability to choke off their importation of oil via ship.
See the recent New York Times article on China’s fear and response here.
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http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/2010/03/01/0200000000AEN20100301002900320.HTML
S. Korean Aegis destroyer to check its combat capabilities in June
SEOUL, March 1 (Yonhap) — South Korea’s first Aegis destroyer will undergo a comprehensive evaluation of its fighting capabilities near Hawaii in June, a Navy source said Monday.
The source said Sejong the Great will conduct tests while taking part in the multinational Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) naval exercise. Lockheed Martin — the developer of the Aegis system — and U.S. Navy experts will act as observers and evaluate the weapons systems during the trial.