"Our ship did not experience any threatening flights from the patrol aircraft"
Shin Won-sik, the nominee for Minister of National Defense, said on the 27th that responding militarily to the Dokdo issue with Japan is "thinking that turning it into a disputed maritime zone would rather play into Japan's hands."
On the same day, Shin responded this way during the confirmation hearing held by the National Assembly's National Defense Committee to a question from Song Ok-ju, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea. In response to the question, "There are concerns that the Japanese military might station troops on Dokdo in the future," he said, "Japan's claim of sovereignty over Dokdo is an absurd assertion and must be strongly protested," but drew a line by saying, "The idea that Japan would land on Dokdo is a groundless fear."
Regarding his remarks made in August 2019 on a YouTube channel, where he said, "Can we be sure that the Korean Empire was happier than the Japanese colonial period just because it lasted?" he clarified that it was a misunderstanding. Shin explained, "The issue of the Korean Empire came up because I was emphasizing that we must strengthen our country and military power so that we do not suffer what we did during the Japanese colonial period again," adding, "Because there has been so much talk about my words, it caused misunderstandings, but if I become minister, I will strive to speak only what is necessary and clearly." When asked if he held New Right historical views, he replied, "I barely know the term 'New Right' itself and only learned about it recently."
Regarding the 'patrol plane conflict' that South Korea and Japan have dragged on for four and a half years since late 2018, involving disputes over facts and pride, he reaffirmed the Ministry of National Defense's existing stance.
Shin said, "It is true that a Japanese patrol plane conducted threatening flights toward our naval vessel," and added, "Japan claims that we conducted radar surveillance on their aircraft, but that is not true, and Japan does not acknowledge it." However, he elaborated, "Since both sides have opposing positions, no conclusion has been reached, and for now, I understand that South Korea and Japan have agreed to set it aside to focus on security cooperation against North Korea's nuclear and missile threats."
Regarding the issue of renaming the Navy submarine Hong Beom-do, he said, "I will delegate the decision to the Chief of Naval Operations."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
