A ROK submarine goes to Guam to participate in military exercises on September 28, 2023.
The ROK military has continuously disclosed information on submarine-related arms and project development, capacity building, and so on. Analysts pointed out that Seoul's actions aimed to enhance its influence as a country with so-called "world-leading submarine technology." Additionally, amidst the current complex domestic and international situation, its intention to highlight developments in the defense sector, including submarines, is seen as having various political considerations.
Frequently creates momentum
Recently, ROK media exposed a series of videos and images showing its submarines traveling to Guam to participate in joint anti-submarine and underwater offensive-and-defensive exercises. It is reported that this is the force's second participation in joint exercises in the same area after the Pacific Vanguard exercise in July this year. According to the country’s Navy, the participating submarines successfully evaded anti-submarine searches during silent underwater penetration and collaborated with foreign military aircraft to complete target destruction drills in the anti-ship attack courses.
In coordination with the long-range anti-submarine exercises in Guam, the ROK military concurrently conducted joint exercises with countries such as Australia and Canada on the east and west coasts of the ROK. According to the trajectory maps exposed by the media, its submarines have appeared successively in locations such as Hawaii and Guam, deeply involved in defense cooperation with international navies this year.
In addition, the ROK Navy accelerated the development process of submarine-launched guided weapons and openly shared the test results about the building of the submarine's combat capabilities. The ROK Submarine Force Command also disclosed the construction updates of submarine berths and facilities in the past three years, reflecting a substantial improvement in software and hardware conditions.
Hypes up attention
In addition to publicly disclosing submarine training activities, the ROK submarine defense industry has also garnered attention recently. Hanwha Ocean, a ROK company responsible for submarine production, signed four contracts with Canadian shipbuilding companies for the joint development of Canada's next-generation submarines. The ROK side will provide support in power technology, including lithium batteries, and in return, its defense industry will gain experience from Canadian companies in simulators and some submarine component manufacturing, virtual display training equipment, submarine-related facility construction, and logistics support.
Deep involvement of ROK's military industry in Canada's new submarine project shows Seoul's international competitiveness in the development of conventional submarines. According to reports, the country got this cooperation project after squeezing out Japanese and European AIP submarine technologies. This is seen as another example of the increasing influence of its military industry.
In addition, the military has also signed a 25 billion won contract for the manufacturing and procurement of ultra-large unmanned submarine technology verification test products with military-industrial enterprises, mainly to develop ultra-large unmanned submarine technology under the guidance of independent national defense technology. The ROK media also timely reported the news of its President and Defense Minister inspecting new submarine factory, releasing the fog about the so-called iterative development of new conventional submarines and strategic submarines.
However, regarding conventional submarine technology, although Seoul emphasizes the autonomy of domestic technology, it still draws heavily on concepts and technologies from Germany, the UK, Spain, and other countries.
Diverts attention
The Yoon Suk-yeol government has its own strategic considerations in intensifying propaganda efforts on military construction in areas such as submarines.
On one hand, it aims to continue to boost public approval ratings. Through recent displays of military strength and emphasizing security threats, the Yoon government has redirected some public dissatisfaction with its governance and increased the approval ratings to 36%. It hopes to get rid of the predicament of persistently low public support ratings by continuing to exert efforts in the fields of defense and military industry.
On the other hand, Seoul aims to gain political and diplomatic benefits by playing the military card. In addition to exports and joint development of equipment, its Ministry of National Defense openly supports the nuclear submarine project involving the UK, the US, and Australia. The design tonnage of the related submarine project is around 4,500 tons, which closely aligns with the displacement of the strategic submarines currently developed by the ROK. The ROK seeks to position itself within the technological circle of the US alliance by capitalizing on its technological advantages.
Some ROK think tank scholars have recently advocated for the country to contribute to the maintenance and updating of some tactically outdated US nuclear weapons, aiming for a breakthrough in this regard. ROK's continuous hyping of submarine cooperation with other countries is part of a comprehensive strategy to expand nuclear deterrence effects.
