South Korean authorities are investigating three Chinese students for allegedly using a drone to capture footage of the USS Theodore Roosevelt and South Korean Naval Operations Command in Busan. The students, aged between 30 and 49, are enrolled in academic programs in Busan, a major port city where U.S. Naval aircraft carriers frequently visit.
The incidents occurred on June 23 and June 25, when the USS Theodore Roosevelt was docked in Busan harbor alongside the destroyers USS Halsey and USS Daniel Inouye. The aircraft carrier was in Busan for a scheduled port visit to support operational readiness and the alliance between the United States and South Korea. During this period, the Chinese students allegedly recorded panoramic views of the carrier and surrounding military facilities using a drone.
According to a Busan Metropolitan Police officer, the students claimed they filmed the aircraft carrier “out of curiosity.” The footage reportedly includes over five minutes of panoramic views, taken on the same day South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol visited the vessel. South Korean law prohibits unauthorized photography and videography in and around military bases, and the students are accused of violating the Enforcement Decree of the Protection of Military Bases and Installations Act.
This incident follows a similar case earlier this year, where drone images of the Japanese aircraft carrier JS Izumo were uploaded to a Chinese social media platform, claiming they were recorded at the Yokosuka naval base.
The USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group departed San Diego for the Western Pacific on January 11 and was recently operating in the Gulf of Aden. The carrier had stopped in Busan before participating in joint exercises with South Korean and Japanese warships, part of a trilateral multi-domain exercise named Freedom Edge, which took place from June 26 to June 29.
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