JAKARTA - South Korea's Ministry of Defense firmly rejects Japan's new territorial claim to South Korea's easternmost island, Dokdo.
The Ministry of Defense even said that there was no need to repeat the explanation of the matter. This is because this is not the first time this unilateral claim has arisen.
"I think it does not need an explanation, but Dokdo is a legacy of South Korea historically, geographically and by international law. The defense ministry maintains such an attitude," said Defense Ministry spokesman Boo Seung-chan, reported Koreatimes.
Last week, the Japanese government approved 296 textbooks for junior high school students, including 30 for social science subjects. In it, contains Tokyo's claim of sovereignty over Dokdo Island.
Relations between Seoul and Tokyo have fallen to one of their lowest points in recent years, as the historical and diplomatic tussle has spilled over into the economic and security sphere.
However, the two sides have worked to improve relations amid calls by the United States for stronger trilateral security cooperation. The Defense Ministry said they were working to separate military issues from non-military issues.
Last year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of South Korea filed a strong protest, because Japan offended Dokdo Island as a white paper on the country's defense, as reported by Yonhap. In the book, Japan mentions Dokdo's unfinished status with South Korea, as well as the Kuril Islands' disputed status with Russia.
The Japanese claim to Dokdo or Takeshima in Japan has been going on for a long time. Since 2005, Dokdo's name has always been included in the diplomat's blue book and the Japanese defense white paper.
On August 25-26, 2019, South Korea held a massive military exercise on Dokdo Island, attended by all elements from the Army, Navy and Air Force.
Apart from the Navy's special forces, this exercise was also attended by the Marines, F-15Ks fighter jets, and the Aegis Sejong The Great destroyer.
At that time, the exercise was held after South Korea withdrew from an intelligence sharing agreement with Japan. Meanwhile, Japan has dropped South Korea from its list of trusted trading partners, as reported by Reuters on August 25, 2019.
A month before the exercise, Russian and Chinese warplanes held joint patrols and twice crossed the airspace over Dokdo Island. Russia, also violated the territory of the Korea Air Defense Identification Zone (KADIZ), between Dokdo and Ulleung Island.
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