Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Declares "Unacceptable" South Korean Military's Dokdo Defense Drill

The view of Dokdo, Ulleung-gun, Gyeongsangbuk-do, as seen from the ship departing on the 26th [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] The Japanese government has lodged a protest against the South Korean military's Dokdo defense drill.

According to local media on the 30th, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly protested to the South Korean government the previous day, stating, "We absolutely cannot accept the drill. It is very regrettable."

The South Korean Navy and Coast Guard conducted a small-scale Dokdo defense drill the previous afternoon, deploying only naval vessels without any aircraft sorties.

In response, Kyodo News analyzed, "This was the first drill conducted since the inauguration of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration in May," and added, "The reduced scale this time appears to be an attempt to avoid excessively provoking Japan." The Japanese government, which claims sovereignty over Dokdo, protests every time South Korea conducts its biannual Dokdo defense drills and demands their suspension.

In the 2022 edition of the Defense White Paper titled 'Japan's Defense,' published on the 22nd, the Japanese government described the security environment around its country, stating, "The Northern Territories (the Japanese term for the four Kuril Islands) and Takeshima (竹島, the name Japan uses for Dokdo) territorial issues, which are inherent territories of our country (Japan), remain unresolved."

In the Defense White Paper, the Japanese government has repeated these unfounded claims for 18 years since 2005.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.