South Korea, the United States and Japan will conduct a trilateral exercise called "Freedom Edge" in the waters southeast of Jeju Island from September 7 to 11.

South Korea, the United States, and Japan plan to conduct the 2026 "Freedom Edge" joint military exercise from September 7th to 11th in the southeastern waters off Jeju Island, according to military authorities. This annual defense-oriented exercise aims to counter North Korea's nuclear and missile threat, as well as maintain regional peace and stability.

The decision to hold the training comes after a U.S.-Japan-South Korea summit in August 2023, where the United States reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening the region's defense capabilities. The exercise, dubbed "Freedom Edge," emphasizes the importance of countering China's growing influence in the South China Sea. This is in stark contrast to previous years where the focus was solely on addressing the nuclear and missile threat posed by North Korea.

The "Freedom Edge" exercise is a multi-domain operation, which means it incorporates land, sea, air, space, cyber, and electronic warfare elements. This reflects a broader trend of expanding the scope of joint operations beyond a specific territorial boundary to a global scale. The exercise is interpreted as an expansion of the U.S.-South Korea joint operation to the Indo-Pacific region, aimed at countering China's influence.

The training location in the Jeju Island southern-eastern waters, also known as the East China Sea, is a strategic chokepoint where Chinese naval forces from the South China Sea and the Bohai Sea converge towards the Pacific. The annual "Freedom Edge" training is set to continue in this region, serving as a strategic deterrent against China's expanding presence in the South China Sea.