ID :
198778
Tue, 08/02/2011 - 15:16
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/198778
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(2nd LD) S. Korea demands correction of Dokdo claims in Japanese defense paper
SEOUL, Aug. 2 (Yonhap) -- Seoul on Tuesday demanded the correction of a Japanese defense document laying claim to the South Korean islets of Dokdo in what has become part of a series of unusually strong responses to Tokyo's ongoing territorial claims.
Japan approved its 2011 defense white paper earlier in the day, using the same language since 2005 to refer to Dokdo as Japanese territory. The East Sea islets have been a source of ongoing tension between the neighbors as South Korea flatly dismisses Japan's claims as nonsense, saying it regained control over all of its territory, including Dokdo, at the end of Tokyo's 1910-45 colonial rule.
"Our government strongly protests the inclusion of Japan's territorial claims to Dokdo, which is clearly our territory in terms of history, geography and international law, and demand an immediate correction," Seoul's Foreign Ministry spokesman Cho Byung-jae told reporters during a press briefing.
"Dokdo is our territory over which we exert resolute sovereignty, and we will firmly respond to any unreasonable attempt to violate our sovereignty over Dokdo."
The spokesman's words were a stronger protest to the annual defense paper's claims than in previous years, when a lower-ranking ministry official was assigned to issue a statement.
Earlier Tuesday, the ministry summoned Nobukatsu Kanehara, a diplomatic minister at the Japanese embassy here, to express regret over Tokyo's latest move. In previous years, the ministry has summoned the Japanese embassy's councilor, who ranks lower than a minister.
The diplomatic row came one day after three Japanese lawmakers of the conservative Liberal Democratic Party were forced to return home after being denied entry at a Seoul airport over their plan to visit Ulleung Island, located 90 kilometers west of Dokdo. The trip was seen as an attempt to bolster Japan's claims to South Korea's easternmost territory, and Seoul justified its response based on its immigration laws, which allow an entry ban for people who could harm the country's interests or the public's safety.
Kanehara called the ministry on Monday to protest Seoul's entry ban on the Japanese lawmakers.
This year's defense paper repeats the same phrase that has been included since 2005, claiming that "the territorial issue of the Northern Territories and Takeshima, which are proper to Japan, remains in an unresolved state." The Northern Territories refer to islands off Japan claimed by both Tokyo and Moscow, while Takeshima is the Japanese name for Dokdo.
The defense ministry here also expressed "deep regrets" over Tokyo's latest claim to Dokdo. In a statement, the ministry said it "sternly protests" the publication of the latest defense white paper and demanded the Japanese government immediately withdraw its territorial claim.
"We urge the Japanese ministry to realize it can't expect future-oriented development of our bilateral military relations unless Japan relinquishes its claim to Dokdo," the statement read. "We will firmly deal with any attempts to damage the sovereignty of Dokdo."
To lodge its complaint, the defense ministry summoned Hiroshi Kimura, a military attache at the Japanese embassy here. Kimura was also summoned last year when the defense paper was released.
Meanwhile, the National Assembly's special committee on Dokdo announced earlier its plan to hold a meeting on Aug. 12 on the islets to condemn Japan's sovereignty claim. It would be the first such meeting in South Korean history and Tokyo has demanded the plan be stopped.
"We see no need to object to our legislature's lawmaking activities that are carried out within our territory," Cho said.
South Korea has stationed its Coast Guard on Dokdo since 1954 as a symbol of its ownership. Meanwhile, Japan continues to lay claim to the islets in its school textbooks and official government documents, each time reigniting deep resentment among South Koreans over Tokyo's colonial rule.
The latest diplomatic spat came early last month when Japan imposed a one-month ban on its diplomats' use of Korean Air flights in retaliation for the airline's June 16 test flight of its first Airbus A380 plane over Dokdo. South Korea demanded an immediate withdrawal of the measure, but Tokyo refused to do so.
Japan approved its 2011 defense white paper earlier in the day, using the same language since 2005 to refer to Dokdo as Japanese territory. The East Sea islets have been a source of ongoing tension between the neighbors as South Korea flatly dismisses Japan's claims as nonsense, saying it regained control over all of its territory, including Dokdo, at the end of Tokyo's 1910-45 colonial rule.
"Our government strongly protests the inclusion of Japan's territorial claims to Dokdo, which is clearly our territory in terms of history, geography and international law, and demand an immediate correction," Seoul's Foreign Ministry spokesman Cho Byung-jae told reporters during a press briefing.
"Dokdo is our territory over which we exert resolute sovereignty, and we will firmly respond to any unreasonable attempt to violate our sovereignty over Dokdo."
The spokesman's words were a stronger protest to the annual defense paper's claims than in previous years, when a lower-ranking ministry official was assigned to issue a statement.
Earlier Tuesday, the ministry summoned Nobukatsu Kanehara, a diplomatic minister at the Japanese embassy here, to express regret over Tokyo's latest move. In previous years, the ministry has summoned the Japanese embassy's councilor, who ranks lower than a minister.
The diplomatic row came one day after three Japanese lawmakers of the conservative Liberal Democratic Party were forced to return home after being denied entry at a Seoul airport over their plan to visit Ulleung Island, located 90 kilometers west of Dokdo. The trip was seen as an attempt to bolster Japan's claims to South Korea's easternmost territory, and Seoul justified its response based on its immigration laws, which allow an entry ban for people who could harm the country's interests or the public's safety.
Kanehara called the ministry on Monday to protest Seoul's entry ban on the Japanese lawmakers.
This year's defense paper repeats the same phrase that has been included since 2005, claiming that "the territorial issue of the Northern Territories and Takeshima, which are proper to Japan, remains in an unresolved state." The Northern Territories refer to islands off Japan claimed by both Tokyo and Moscow, while Takeshima is the Japanese name for Dokdo.
The defense ministry here also expressed "deep regrets" over Tokyo's latest claim to Dokdo. In a statement, the ministry said it "sternly protests" the publication of the latest defense white paper and demanded the Japanese government immediately withdraw its territorial claim.
"We urge the Japanese ministry to realize it can't expect future-oriented development of our bilateral military relations unless Japan relinquishes its claim to Dokdo," the statement read. "We will firmly deal with any attempts to damage the sovereignty of Dokdo."
To lodge its complaint, the defense ministry summoned Hiroshi Kimura, a military attache at the Japanese embassy here. Kimura was also summoned last year when the defense paper was released.
Meanwhile, the National Assembly's special committee on Dokdo announced earlier its plan to hold a meeting on Aug. 12 on the islets to condemn Japan's sovereignty claim. It would be the first such meeting in South Korean history and Tokyo has demanded the plan be stopped.
"We see no need to object to our legislature's lawmaking activities that are carried out within our territory," Cho said.
South Korea has stationed its Coast Guard on Dokdo since 1954 as a symbol of its ownership. Meanwhile, Japan continues to lay claim to the islets in its school textbooks and official government documents, each time reigniting deep resentment among South Koreans over Tokyo's colonial rule.
The latest diplomatic spat came early last month when Japan imposed a one-month ban on its diplomats' use of Korean Air flights in retaliation for the airline's June 16 test flight of its first Airbus A380 plane over Dokdo. South Korea demanded an immediate withdrawal of the measure, but Tokyo refused to do so.
