[Courtesy of Republic of Korea Armed Forces]
South Korea on Friday celebrated the completion of a major naval base on the southern resort island of Jeju, showing off its bolstered naval power to North Korea, China and Japan.
The new base, likened by South Korean officials to the US base in Hawaii, is capable of docking 20 combat vessels and two of the largest class of cruise ships simultaneously.
President Park Geun-hye said in a statement that the base would play a crucial role in defending South Korea's marine sovereignty and gateway to the Pacific Ocean.
"(South Korea) will develop the Jeju naval base to be world-class just like the ones in Hawaii and Sydney," Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn said at a ceremony protected by a submarine, naval planes and warships including a 7,600-ton Aegis destroyer.
Hwang said it would also help South Korea respond strongly to North Korea's marine threats.
The naval base, built for military and commercial purposes, cost more than one trillion won (809 million US dollars). Its piers run a total of 2,400 meters in length.
The base allows South Korea to station military forces at the critical sea lane where North Korean vessels pass through.
Within four hours from the base, South Korea can send a warship to a disputed area over a submerged rock which has been the subject of a territorial row between Beijing and Seoul.
South Korea has decided to deploy a new 5,000-ton patrol vessel aimed at bolstering its territorial claim over the rock known as Ieodo in South Korea and Suyan Rock in China.
The rock lies within the overlapping exclusive economic zones (EEZ) of the two countries. The EEZ, which stretches out to 200 nautical miles from the coastline, is a sea zone over which a country has special rights regarding the exploration and use of marine resources.
Although international maritime law stipulates that a submerged rock cannot be claimed as territory by any country, South Korea effectively controls the rock by building a research station and a helipad in 2003.
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