South Korea Strong Protests Japan's Latest Claim On Dokdo Islands

South Korean police ship on Dokdo Island. (Wikimedia Commons/Ulleungdont)

JAKARTA - The South Korean government on Tuesday strongly protested Japan's latest territorial claim to Dokdo Island in this year's defense white paper, calling embassy officials to protest.

"The government strongly protested Japan repeating its unfair territorial claim to Dokdo," a spokesman for the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement, describing the islands as Korean territory in terms of history, geography, and international law. July 16.

The spokesman also called for a "immediately" withdrawal of Japanese claims, warning Seoul would respond firmly to any provocation from Japan regarding Dokdo.

Seoul's Ministry of Defense also voiced the same call, pledging to provide a "hard" response to any attempt to undermine the country's territorial rights.

The two ministries summoned officials from the Japanese Embassy in Seoul to protest. The South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Plt. Ambassador Yoshiyasu Iseki to submit an official protest, while the South Korean Ministry of Defense summoned the Defense Attache

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has filed complaints on the updated territorial claims, as well as the issuance of a children's edition of defense white paper which also confirms its sovereignty over Dokdo.

This children's defense white paper has previously only been available online since 2021. However, this year it was printed as a book and distributed to elementary schools for the first time.

After a previous Cabinet meeting on the same day, the Japanese Government released its annual defense white paper, which calls Dokdo its Japanese name, Takeshima and describes it as part of Japanese territory.

The territorial issues over the small islands are "still unresolved," the white paper said, marking the 21st year in a row the document contains Japan's claim to Dokdo.

Dokdo has long been a source of recurring tension between the two neighboring countries, as Tokyo continues to claim sovereignty in its policy documents, public statements, and school textbooks.

Ginseng Country itself places a police detachment on the small islands, which effectively controls them.