It has been confirmed that the Japanese government has been protesting to South Korea regarding the contents of the ‘2022 Defense White Paper’ recently published by the Ministry of National Defense. It seems to have taken issue with the part that pointed out Japan’s distortion of history and unreasonable claims of territorial sovereignty over Dokdo.
According to military authorities on the 21st, the Japanese government recently lodged a complaint with the Korean Embassy in Japan regarding the defense white paper published by the Ministry of National Defense on the 16th.
In this defense white paper, the Ministry of National Defense said that it would strengthen cooperation with Japan in the field of security, etc., but also said, “We will deal firmly and sternly with pending issues such as Japan’s distortion of history and unfair territorial claim to Dokdo.”
Panoramic view of Dokdo. Photo Collaboration FoundationIn particular, the Ministry of National Defense said, “The defense relationship between the two countries has suffered from difficulties due to distorted historical perceptions by some political leaders in Japan, territorial claims over Dokdo, and conflicts between Japanese patrol planes.” Export control measures are becoming an obstacle to the future-oriented development of defense exchanges and cooperation between the two countries,” he pointed out.
The Japanese government is making an unreasonable assertion that Dokdo is its territory that was incorporated into Shimane Prefecture in 1905 under the name of ‘Takeshima’ (the name of Dokdo claimed by Japan), and that “Korea is illegally occupying it.”
The military authorities of both Korea and Japan have been protesting by inviting military attachés from the other country over the Dokdo-related technology in the Japanese defense white paper and the South Korean defense white paper.
In July of last year, when Japan repeated its unreasonable assertion that “Dokdo is Japanese territory” in the 2022 defense white paper, South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense dismissed Nakashima Takao (中島隆雄), a defense attaché at the Japanese Embassy in Korea, defense representative for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (first lieutenant colonel). I was taken aback.
Prior to this, the Ministry of Defense of Japan had called the military attaché of the Korean Embassy in Japan in relation to the ‘2020 Defense White Paper’ published by the Ministry of National Defense in February 2021 and conveyed its unacceptable and regrettable position.
Therefore, it is presumed that Japan’s protest against the ‘2022 Defense White Paper’ was also due to the content related to Dokdo. However, a military official said, “Confirmation of the contents of the protest through diplomatic channels is limited.”
However, it was found that the Japanese side did not invite our military attaché, unlike before, while protesting to the Korean side through the embassy in relation to the ‘2022 National Defense White Paper’. Regarding this, there is also an interpretation that “the Japanese government has also lowered the level of opposition in accordance with the policy stance of the Yoon Seok-yeol government to improve Korea-Japan relations.”
The two countries are emphasizing the importance of security cooperation between South Korea and Japan and between Korea and the US and Japan at every opportunity as the nuclear and missile threats from North Korea have recently escalated.
In the midst of this, our Ministry of National Defense described in this ‘2022 Defense White Paper’ that “Korea and Japan share values, and Japan is a close neighbor that needs to build a future cooperative relationship that meets common interests.” This is the ‘2020 Defense White Paper’, which described Japan as “a neighboring country that must cooperate not only for bilateral relations but also for peace and prosperity in Northeast Asia and the world.” .
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.