Japan protests to Korea over military drills on disputed islands

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

National

Wed, November 29, 2023 | 04:30

Defense

Japan protests over military drills on Dokdo islands

Posted : 2023-07-08 09:38

Updated : 2023-07-09 08:30

This Aug. 25, 2019 file photo shows Korea's first Aegis-equipped destroyer, the Sejong the Great, taking part in a defense exercise near Dokdo. Yonhap

Japan has lodged a protest with Korea over military drills by the latter on the Dokdo islands, calling the move "extremely regrettable."

In a statement Friday, Japan's foreign ministry said it summoned a senior diplomat at the Korean embassy in Tokyo, while the Japanese embassy in Seoul also summoned a senior Korean official to make the protest.

"Takeshima is indisputably an inherent territory of Japan, in light of historical facts and based on international law," the ministry said in the statement. "The drills by the Korean military are unacceptable and extremely regrettable."

The two nations have long been at loggerheads over the sovereignty of the group of islets called Takeshima in Japan and Dokdo in Korea, which lie about halfway between the East Asian neighbors in the Sea of Japan, which Korea calls the East Sea.

The Japanese protest comes even as bilateral frictions have eased recently amid shared concerns about China's growing might and U.S. entreaties for its allies to work more closely together. U.S., Japanese and Korean leaders have been expected to hold a trilateral summit in the United States this summer.

Asked about the Japanese protest, a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department said the question of sovereignty was for Korea and Japan to resolve, but added that "a robust and effective trilateral relationship ... is critical for our shared security and common interests."

A Korean military official said his country had conducted the military drills routinely every year.

"The East Sea territory defense exercise was carried out to conduct our mission to protect our territory, people and property," the official said. (Reuters)