Seoul: The South Korean Navy's 3,100-ton frigate Daejeon has won the top honour at a live-fire gunnery competition held during this year's Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise, the service said on Sunday.
The ROKS Daejeon scored the highest points among 13 warships from 10 countries that took part in the Naval Surface Fire Support (NSFS) Rodeo competition held in Hawaii last month, according to the Navy.
It marked the first time in 16 years that a South Korean warship took the top prize since the Navy's King Sejong the Great destroyer won the competition in 2010, Yonhap News Agency reported.
Launched in 1971, RIMPAC is a biennial exercise designed to enhance cooperation among participating countries in securing sea lines of communication and countering potential security challenges at sea.
South Korea served as the commander of the Combined Force Maritime Component during RIMPAC conducted in and around the Hawaiian Islands, making it the first Asian country and the fourth non-US participant to assume the commanding role.
The gunnery competition took place on July 12, but the results were announced during the closing ceremony of the exercise held on Friday.
On July 29, a senior US Navy official described South Korea's role in leading combined maritime forces during a multinational exercise as a "historic leadership milestone," as he pointed out a core theme of the exercise -- shared responsibility.
Vice Adm. Jeffrey Jablon, deputy commander of the US Pacific Fleet, made the remarks in a virtual press briefing on the biennial Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC) that started on June 24 and ran through Friday.
"RIMPAC showcased historic leadership milestones. The Republic of Korea commanded the Combined Force Maritime Component for the first time," he said, also noting that Canada, Chile and Japan also assumed specific leadership positions in the exercise.
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