US aircraft carrier conspicuously absent in joint military drills

US aircraft carrier conspicuously absent in joint military drills. February. 09, 2012 07:30. ysh1005@donga.com.

U.S. aircraft carriers reportedly will not participate in Key Resolve and Foal Eagle, the two major South Korea-U.S. military exercises that will be conducted on Feb. 27.

A government source in Seoul said Wednesday, “(South) Korean and U.S. military authorities have recently decided not to use a U.S. aircraft carrier in Key Resolve and Foal Eagle." Key Resolve, an annual exercise for expanding U.S. military and equipment promptly to the Korean Peninsula in an emergency situation, will run through March 9. Foal Eagle, an annual combined field training exercise, will be held from early March to April.

The source said, “(South) Korea’s Defense Ministry requested the U.S. Defense Department to dispatch an aircraft carrier in this year’s exercise, but the most likely candidate, the USS George Washington, cannot join since it is undergoing repairs." The number of U.S. soldiers participating in the two exercises this year is reportedly reduced to around 11,000, being downsized by 7,000-8,000 due to an aircraft carrier`s absence.

This is not the first time a U.S. aircraft carrier is absent in the two drills. In 2010, no aircraft carrier participated in the annual exercises, while the USS John Stennis and Carl Vinson joined the exercises in 2009 and 2011, respectively.

Analysts say the U.S. is trying not to provoke North Korea, which is especially sensitive to South Korean-U.S. military exercises since the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. Tensions on the Korean Peninsula could be burden to the Obama administration, which is waiting for the next presidential election season. The U.S. carrier combat team with 50-80 ship planes as well as an Aegis destroyer, a cruiser and a nuclear-powered submarine, is powerful enough to match the military power of a nation. The use of an aircraft carrier on the coasts of the Korean Peninsula is a source of extreme tension for North Korea.

A high-ranking military officer said, “Pyongyang criticizes Key Resolve as a rebellious scheme against it because North Korea fears U.S. aircraft carriers. The absence of an aircraft carrier at Key Resolve in 2010 also considered the North`s sentiment.”

Members of South Korea`s ruling and opposition parties will visit the Kaesong industrial complex in North Korea on Friday. Signs of a thaw in relations between Seoul and Pyongyang and potential North Korean-U.S. talks in Washington this month have prompted the U.S. not to send an aircraft carrier, according to experts.

The U.S. Navy is known to plan the dispatch of large attack ships to the preliminary South Korean-U.S. landing exercise next month. The South Korean and U.S. Navy will carry out a brigade-level landing exercise with some 10,000 soldiers next month.