Senior naval officers representing Australia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Singapore and the United States stand at the opening ceremony for Exercise PACIFIC REACH 2002, hosted in Japan by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF). Photo by Lt. j.g. John Perkins, USN

Opening ceremonies in Sasebo, Japan, on 22 April 2002 marked the start of PACIFIC REACH 2002, a precedent setting multinational submarine rescue exercise. Hosted by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF), this was the second Western Pacific submarine rescue exercise. The first PACIFIC REACH exercise was conducted off the coast of Singapore in October 2000.

PACIFIC REACH 2002 enhanced submarine rescue interoperability and cooperation among the five participating navies — Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, and the United States. Representatives from Canada, Chile, China, France, India, Indonesia, and the United Kingdom observed the exercise and exchanged information on submarine rescues.

The loss of 118 Russian sailors aboard the stranded Russian submarine Kursk in August 2000 highlighted the significance of rescuing sailors aboard a disabled submarine. "In the hundred years of submarine history, unfortunately, many submarine accidents have occurred where the precious lives of submarine crews were lost," said the exercise host, JMSDF Vice Adm. Seizo Nakao, at the opening ceremony. "The gathering ... here of countries from around the world who possess submarines to exchange information on submarine rescue and [to] conduct an actual rescue exercise will greatly increase our submarine rescue capability."

The exercise, conducted off the southwest coast of the island of Kyushu, Japan, used submarines from several nations to simulate a disabled submarine on the bottom of the ocean. Rescue systems from Japan, Korea, and the United States rescued sailors from "disabled" submarines and transported them to surface ships. Ships of the participating nations included: JMSDF’s Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle (DSRV) Angler Fish 2, the submarine rescue ship JDS Chihaya (ASR 403), and the exercise command and control ship JDS Bungo (MST 464); the Royal Australian Navy submarine HMAS Farncombe (S 74); the U.S. Navy’s fast attack submarine USS La Jolla (SSN 701), the rescue and salvage ship USS Safeguard (ARS 50), and the DSRV Mystic (DSRV 1); and the Republic of Korea Navy’s submarine rescue ship ROKS Cheong Hae Jin (ARS 21) and the submarine ROKS Jung Woon (SS 067).