County's 'Dokdo Defense Drill' Last Month... "Regular Sovereignty Protection Measure"

Military authorities conducted this year's first 'East Sea Territory Defense Exercise' near Dokdo waters in late last month in a closed session.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

A military official said on the 7th, "Our military has conducted the East Sea Territory Defense Exercise regularly every year," adding, "This exercise was also carried out to fulfill the mission of protecting our territory, people, and property."

This exercise is commonly referred to as the 'Dokdo Defense Exercise' and has been conducted twice annually on a regular basis since 1986. Under the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, this is the third time the East Sea Territory Defense Exercise has been held, with naval and coast guard vessels participating at levels similar to last year. During the previous Moon Jae-in administration, large-scale public exercises were held several times, involving air force fighter jets and marine landing forces, with prior announcements of the plans.

However, since the launch of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, it is reported that air power and landing forces have not been deployed in the exercises. Some analysts suggest this may be because the government, actively seeking to improve Korea-Japan relations, is mindful of Japan's opposition to the exercise. Japan has strongly protested every time our military conducts this exercise. When our military held the Dokdo Defense Exercise last December, the Japanese government protested through diplomatic channels, stating, "It is absolutely unacceptable. We deeply regret it."

At a meeting with reporters, a military official explained, "In the past, air power and marine forces sometimes participated and sometimes did not," adding, "The forces deployed were at the usual level."

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