Resolution of Korea-Japan Patrol Aircraft Conflict: "Maintaining Safe Distance Between Warships and Patrol Aircraft"

South Korea and Japan have agreed on measures to prevent the recurrence of the "patrol aircraft conflict," which has been an obstacle to military cooperation between the two countries.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 1st (local time), Shin Won-sik, South Korea's Minister of National Defense, and Minoru Kihara, Japan's Minister of Defense, held a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the 21st Asia Security Conference (Shangri-La Dialogue) held in Singapore and announced this agreement.

The defense ministers of South Korea and Japan stated in a joint press release that over the past year, working-level consultations have been conducted to prevent the recurrence of the patrol aircraft conflict, resulting in an agreement drafted by the South Korean Navy and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force that includes communication procedures between their respective ships and aircraft as well as communication methods at the headquarters level.

The ministers explained, "From now on, when the Republic of Korea Navy and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force encounter each other at sea during peacetime, they will conduct operational activities in accordance with the agreement."

The South Korea-Japan patrol aircraft conflict was triggered in December 2018 when Japan claimed that a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force P-1 patrol aircraft flying near the South Korean Navy's Gwanggaeto the Great-class destroyer, which was searching for a North Korean fishing boat that had been shipwrecked in the East Sea, was illuminated by the ship's fire-control radar.

South Korea denied any radar illumination and countered that the patrol aircraft flew threateningly near the Gwanggaeto the Great-class destroyer.

The two sides held opposing views until June last year, when they agreed to establish measures to prevent the recurrence of the patrol aircraft conflict during the South Korea-Japan defense ministers' meeting held on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue, and after one year of working-level consultations, they reached this agreement.

To ensure safety, both sides agreed to maintain a safe distance between ships and aircraft and to comply with the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea (CUES), which prohibits actions simulating attacks by aiming naval guns, missiles, fire-control radars, or torpedo tubes at the direction of the encountered ship or aircraft.

Additionally, for proper communication and interaction, they agreed to call and respond according to mutually agreed priorities based on the frequencies outlined in CUES's "Radio Communication Plan."

Furthermore, the defense ministers of both countries agreed to make the South Korea-Japan vice-ministerial defense meetings annual and to resume the South Korea-Japan defense policy working meetings as well as high-level exchanges between the South Korean military and the Japan Self-Defense Forces.

In the joint press release, the ministers stated, "We share the recognition that South Korea-Japan security cooperation is beneficial to both countries that share core values and strategic interests, is the cornerstone of the strong South Korea-U.S.-Japan security cooperation, and is essential not only to deter threats from North Korea but also to cooperate in realizing a free and open Indo-Pacific."