Angry With Japan's Claim, South Korea Sends Joint Troops To Dokdo Island Tomorrow

Illustration of South Korean military preparations. (Wikimedia Commons/대한민국 Republic of Korea Armed Forces)

JAKARTA - Japan never seems to be deterred from claiming Dokdo Island as its territory. South Korea, which views the island as its territory, plans to send a joint force to the island on Tuesday.

Last week, South Korea's Foreign Ministry expressed its objections and lodged a diplomatic protest, after Japan's Joint Staff posted a video of its Indo-Pacific policy, marking the Dokdo Island area as its own on Twitter and Facebook.

"We clearly express regret and protest over this matter through diplomatic channels. Dokdo is a territory that is attached to us historically, geographically, and by international law. As emphasized repeatedly, we will resolutely respond to Japan's erroneous territorial claims and repeated against Dokdo," said the South Korean Foreign Ministry as reported by Yonhap on Friday, June 11.

Coincidentally or not, South Korea plans to hold regular annual military exercises in and around the easternmost island of Dokdo, to boost its military capabilities.

South Korean military exercises on Dokdo Island. (Wikimedia Commons/대한민국 Republic of Korea Armed Forces)

According to the government and military, launching the Koreatimes Monday, June 14, taking the 'East Sea Territory Protection Exercise', will be held Tuesday, June 15 tomorrow, involving joint forces from the Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard sources.

"The Marine Corps will not be joining the program this year, as no landing drills will be conducted. The exercises will be conducted in a way that minimizes direct contact given the COVID-19 situation", said a source familiar with the plan.

"As a regular joint exercise, the upcoming drills are aimed at responding to threats to our territory, people, and property", said a military official.

Illustration of a South Korean military soldier. (Wikimedia Commons/Petty Officer 1st Class Daniel Gay)

In protest against regular drills, Japan canceled talks agreed between President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga during the Group of Seven (G7) meeting in Britain last week, a foreign ministry official in Seoul said.

South Korea launched the Dokdo exercise in 1986. Since 2003, South Korea has typically held training twice a year, usually in June and December, to better fend off possible foreign infiltration in the area.

Japan has repeatedly made territorial claims to Dokdo, while South Korea has effectively controlled the islands with small police detachments since its liberation from Japanese colonial rule in 1945.

Last month, South Korea called for a boycott of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in protest after a map showing the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Torch Relay route marked Dokdo Island as Japanese territory. Reportedly, Japan refused to correct the map.

Watchtower on Dokdo Island. (Wikimedia Commons/Ulleungdont)

In April, the South Korean Ministry of Defense firmly rejected Japan's claim to Dokdo Island, in a Japanese junior high school textbook in early April. Of the 296 books approved by the Japanese Government, 30 of them are for social science lessons. It contains Tokyo's claim to sovereignty over Dokdo Island.

Last year, South Korea's Foreign Ministry lodged a strong protest, because Japan alluded to Dokdo Island in the country's defense white paper, Yonhap reported. In the book, Japan mentions Dokdo's unfinished status with South Korea, such as the status of the Kuril Islands which is disputed with Russia.

Japan's 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 Army, Navy, and Air Force elements. In addition to the Navy's special forces, this exercise was also attended by Marines, F-15Ks fighter jets, to the Aegis Destroyer Sejong The Great.

At that time, the exercise was held after South Korea withdrew from an intelligence-sharing agreement with Japan. Meanwhile, Japan removed South Korea from the list of trusted trading partners, as reported by Reuters on August 25, 2019.