Present: First Decade of 21st Century
The ROK Navy continues to put its efforts to build a "blue ocean navy". In 2001, then President Kim Dae-jung announced a plan for building up the Strategic Mobile Fleet.
In 2002, the lead ship (DDH 975) of the 4,500-ton Chungmugong Yi Sunshin class destroyer was launched. In 2005, the 14,000-ton amphibious landing ship, ROKS Dokdo (LPH 6111) was launched. In 2006, the ROK Navy launched the lead ship (SS 072) of the 1,800-ton Sohn Wonyil class submarine, which was named after the first Chief of Naval Operations, equipped with Air-Independent Propulsion (AIP) system. In May 2007, the ROK Navy launched the lead ship (DDG 991) of the King Sejong the Great class destroyer, built around the Aegis combat system and the SPY-1D multi-function phased array radar. In June 2007, the ROK Navy launched the lead ship (PKG 711) of the Yoon Young-ha class missile boat in honor of the late captain of ROKS PKM 357, which was sunken after an engagement with the North Korean navy in 2002.
The ROK Navy completed the construction of Busan Naval Operations Base in June 2006; Commander Third Fleet was moved to the newly established operational headquarters. In November 2007, Commander Third Fleet was relocated to Mokpo while disestablishing Mokpo Naval Sector Defense Command. In December 2007, Commander-in-Chief Republic of Korea Fleet (CINCROKFLT) moved its command headquarters from Jinhae Naval Base to Busan Naval Operations Base. Jinhae had been CINCROKFLT's homeport since 1953.
As a part of its mission, the ROK Navy participated in several peacekeeping operations since the turn of the century. In 2004, the ROK Navy hosted a multilateral naval exercise - Pacific Reach 2004 - for the first time. The Cruise Training Fleet - ROKS Chungmugong Yi Sunshin (DDH 975) and ROKS Cheonji (AOE 57) - visited the United Kingdom in order to take part in the International Fleet Review for Trafalgar 200 in 2005. In 2010, ROKS Cheonan sinking occurred in Yellow Sea.
Read more about this topic: History Of The Republic Of Korea Navy
Famous quotes containing the word decade:
“Like those before it, this decade takes on the marketable subtleties of a private phenomenon: parenthood. Mothers are being teased out of the home and into the agora for a public trial. Are we doing it right? Do we have the right touch? The right toys? The right lights? Is our child going to grow up tall, thin and bright? Something private, and precious, has become public, vulgarized—and scored by impersonal judges.”
—Sonia Taitz (20th century)