KEYNOTE IV was a multinational anti-submarine exercise held in the South China Sea. The centerpiece of U.S. participation was the huge Los Angeles-class submarine, USS Indianapolis (SSN-697) Rescue Coordination Center; and Maj. (L) Jorsni bin Hj Lamat, S02 (SAR), Brunei Ministry of Defense.

Anti-submarine tactics development was the goal of exercise KEYNOTE IV, a multinational exercise conducted in the South China Sea with units from the United Kingdom, the Republic of Korea, Australia, and the United States.

The exercise, held just before the hand-over of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China, included the submarines HMS Trafalgar from the United Kingdom, ROKS Park Wi from Korea, HMAS Otama from Australia, and the USS Indianapolis from the United States. In addition, the guided missile frigate, USS Thach, and P3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft from Carrier Task Force 72 joined a United Kingdom task group consisting of nine Royal Navy ships. At the time, the Royal Navy task group was six months into an eight-month deployment from Great Britain called "Ocean Wave 97."

For the Korean submarine force, involvement in the exercise was a new milestone, coming close on the heels of the visit of the ROKS Chang Bogo to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. In just a few short years, the Republic of Korea Navy has developed a substantial sea-going capability in their nearly new fleet of German designed Type 209 diesel submarines. But this was an exercise of many firsts, foremost being that this was the first time these four nations had participated together in an anti-submarine exercise.

This was also the first time that a U.S. Submarine Group (COMSUBGRU 7) Submarine Assistance Team embarked on a British ship in the western Pacific to assist the British in submarine coordination. Led by Cmdr. Lee Hall, the team was greeted with warm hospitality aboard HMS Illustrious, one of only two active aircraft carriers in the Royal Navy. ET2 Brian Frank of the U.S. team remarked that "The Royal Navy knows how to make their allies feel welcome. It's been an experience that no one can forget."

COMSUBGRU 7 coordinated communications and worked to ensure the safety of all participating submarines. The communications circuits were vital to the exercise. Cmdr. John Gower of the Royal Navy, commanding officer of HMS Trafalgar, remarked, "The communications in this exercise was the star performer!" To emphasize the point, Rear Adm. Alan West of the Royal Navy, commander of the United Kingdom task group, said "This exercise would not have been possible without a communications system that provided a direct link to the submarines."

After six days of this complex tactical development exercise, three submarines surfaced and lined up with HMS Illustrious for an historic photo. This was a new twist for the submariners, as most are not familiar with steaming in close formation alongside an aircraft carrier. While maneuvering into position, USS Indianapolis was flying their "INDY 500" (a famous auto race in the submarine's namesake town, Indianapolis, Indiana) checkered flag alongside their United States ensign from their bridge. That presented a problem, since the HMS Illustrious bridge watch mistook the checkered flag for the "November" flag which signals "I do not understand your maneuver." Only after Cmdr. Lee explained the USS Indianapolis tradition to the HMS Illustrious commanding officer did the big ship pull alongside the USS Indianapolis, which continued to proudly fly their checkered flag.

Cmdr. Bill Toti, commanding officer of the USS Indianapolis, reflected the feeling among his fellow submariners from the four nations when on the HMS Illustrious. He said "It was an honor to serve with the commander of the United Kingdom task group in this professionally run exercise."

Cmdr. Toti had help on board the USS Indianapolis from Royal Navy liaison officer Lt. Cmdr. Andy Williams, and Korean Navy liaison officer Lt. Cmdr. Jung Song-oh. Cmdr. Toti noted that Lt. Cmdr. Jung "was a very welcome addition to the crew. He had previously served a tour on a Korean Type 209 submarine and is currently in command of a mini-sub. The two and a half weeks spent on Indianapolis was the longest Jung had ever been submerged in one stretch.."

All this made for a very successful exercise. "This is what cooperative engagement is all about," said Cmdr. Toti. "Four allied nations, working and living together, getting a better understanding of how each other operates, building confidence and contributing to regional security. It doesn't get any better than this."