The aircraft carrier USS George Washington leads U.S., Japanese and South Korean destroyers in formation during Freedom Edge 24-2 in the East China Sea, Nov. 13, 2024. (Geoffrey Ottinger/U.S. Navy)
Warships and aircraft from the United States, Japan and South Korea gathered in the East China Sea on Wednesday to kick off their second large-scale exercise of the year.
Freedom Edge 24-2 ends on Friday and includes at least seven warships, including the aircraft carrier USS George Washington, which is due to arrive in Yokosuka later this fall, according to a news release Wednesday from South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The training is taking place south of South Korea’s Jeju Island, according to the news release.
The second iteration of Freedom Edge comes on the heels of recent North Korean missile launches, including an intercontinental ballistic missile on Oct. 31 and several short-range missiles on Nov. 5.
It also follows less than five months after the first Freedom Edge began on June 27, a day after the North fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile from near Pyongyang toward the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea.
The USS George Washington, seen here in the Pacific Ocean on Oct. 18, 2024, is among the warships involved in this week's Freedom Edge exercise in the East China Sea. (Geoffrey Ottinger/U.S. Navy)
The three countries agreed to the exercises at an August 2023 summit at Camp David, Md., between President Joe Biden, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and former Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
The Freedom Edge participants this year jointly condemned North Korea’s recent actions, including the ICBM launch, during high-level talks, according to the South Korean news release.
“This training reflected their will to deter and respond to such threats,” it said.
The three-day exercise includes the U.S. guided-missile destroyers USS McCampbell, USS Higgins and USS Dewey; the Japanese destroyer JS Haguro; the Korean destroyers ROKS Seoae-Ryu-Seong-ryong and ROKS Chungmugong-Yi-Sun-sin; and scores of fighter jets, surveillance planes and other aircraft, according to a news release Wednesday from U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.
This iteration focuses on “state-of-the-art air defense capabilities,” including fifth-generation fighters, as well as ballistic-missile defense, anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare and cyber defense, according to the release.
“The three countries will continue to closely cooperate to further expand their cooperation in a complex security environment,” INDOPACOM said.
An INDOPACOM spokesman did not immediately respond to an email requesting additional information Thursday, Japan time.
