South Korea will expand its anti-piracy naval mission toward the Strait of Hormuz, its defence ministry said on Thursday, in a carefully limited move that stops well short of joining the war between the United States and Iran.

The Cheonghae unit, which has escorted merchant ships in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia since 2009, will have its operating area widened to open waters south of Oman, near the port of Duqm — about 650 kilometres from the strait itself. The unit will stay outside the waterway and under South Korean command.

What Seoul is sending

The reinforcement includes a P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, an explosive ordnance disposal team and uncrewed surface and underwater craft able to detect and clear sea mines. The personnel ceiling rises from 320 to 395. The ministry tied the move to a sharp rise in Somali piracy, with 36 incidents reported so far in 2026, up from 11 in all of 2025.

A defence ministry official, speaking anonymously, stressed that the mission is strictly non-combat and independent of allied forces. Patrol aircraft will be barred from monitoring Iranian territory, Iranian territorial waters or the interior of the strait.

Approval still needed

The plan was backed at a vice-ministerial meeting on 5 November, but it still needs cabinet and presidential approval and a vote in the National Assembly. The unit's current mandate expires on 31 December, and the proposed extension would run through the end of 2027.

The move follows months of pressure from US President Donald Trump for Seoul to back the war effort in Iran. South Korea has resisted direct military involvement, and officials say any future deployment inside the strait itself would need separate parliamentary approval.

Sources: Reuters, South Korea to expand anti-piracy unit operations closer to Strait of Hormuz, 5 November 2026; Yonhap News Agency, 5 November 2026; The Guardian, 5 November 2026.