Repeated through Japan's Defense White Paper... Highlighting both Japan-Korea security and defense cooperation and conflicts
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson's comment: "We will respond firmly to any provocation regarding Dokdo"
[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Japanese government continued its confrontational stance by insisting for the 16th consecutive year in its Defense White Paper that Dokdo is Japanese territory, deleting content about promoting defense cooperation with South Korea in various fields, and citing cases of conflict between the two countries.
On the 14th, the Japanese government adopted the 2020 Defense White Paper "Japan's Defense" at a cabinet meeting presided over by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. This Defense White Paper described the security environment around Japan and, as in the previous year, stated that "the territorial issues of the Northern Territories and Takeshima (the Japanese name for Dokdo), which are Japan's inherent territories, remain unresolved." This repeats the same content for the 16th year in a row.
In response, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Charg? d'Affaires of the Japanese Embassy in Korea around 11 a.m. that day to strongly protest. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kim Jeong-han, Director of the Asia-Pacific Bureau, summoned Soma Hirohisa, Charg? d'Affaires of the Japanese Embassy in Korea, to strongly protest Japan's territorial claims over Dokdo contained in the Defense White Paper and likely demanded the immediate withdrawal of those claims.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson also issued a statement saying, "We strongly protest the Japanese government's repeated unjust territorial claims over Dokdo, which is clearly our inherent territory historically, geographically, and under international law, through the Defense White Paper, and urge the immediate withdrawal of these claims." Furthermore, "We reaffirm that Japan's unjust claims have no effect on our sovereignty over Dokdo, which is the inherent territory of the Republic of Korea, and we will firmly respond to any provocations regarding Dokdo," the spokesperson emphasized.
Additionally, the Defense White Paper prepared by Japan's Ministry of Defense relatively downgraded defense cooperation between South Korea and Japan. It reflected the strained relations between the two countries in the Defense White Paper. After elaborately explaining the cooperative relationship between the United States and Japan, the White Paper listed South Korea fourth in the order of countries cooperating in security and defense fields, following Australia, India, and ASEAN. Until 2018, the Ministry of Defense described security and defense cooperation in the order of Australia, South Korea, and India, but last year it pushed South Korea to a lower position and placed it in the same order this year.
The description of South Korea-Japan security and defense cooperation was also sparse. Previously, the Defense White Paper stated, "We intend to promote defense cooperation with South Korea in a wide range of fields while striving to establish a foundation for solidarity," but this time it only mentioned that the two countries face issues such as North Korea's nuclear and missile problems.
It also referred to the October 2018 issue of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force escort ship flying the Rising Sun flag and the December incident in the East Sea involving a South Korean Navy destroyer and a Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force P-1 patrol aircraft. Furthermore, it mentioned the Korea-Japan General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA), which has been suspended since November last year due to another conflict.
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