Japanese Government "Protests South Korean Ship's Marine Survey Around Dokdo"

The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that it protested against South Korea's maritime survey around Dokdo.

The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated, "On the 6th, it was confirmed that the South Korean survey vessel 'Haeyang 2000' was deploying wires and similar items into the sea in the southern part of Takeshima (the name Japan claims for Dokdo) within Japan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ)."

Dokdo Photo by Yonhap News

It added, "There was no prior request from the Korean side seeking our consent for this survey by the survey vessel."

The survey vessel that conducted the maritime survey belongs to the Korea Hydrographic and Oceanographic Agency.

On the same night, Hiroyuki Namazu, Director-General of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau at the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, strongly protested to Kim Jang-hyun, Political Minister at the Embassy of South Korea in Japan, and Daisuke Mibae, Minister at the Embassy of Japan in South Korea, conveyed to Min Jeong, Director-General of the Asia-Pacific Bureau at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stating, "We cannot accept the survey conducted in Japan's EEZ without Japan's prior consent," and demanded "an immediate halt to the survey."

The Japanese government claims Dokdo as its territory and protests every time South Korea conducts maritime surveys around Dokdo. Previously, it officially protested during the visit to Dokdo by the Dokdo Protection Group of the Democratic Party Gyeonggi Province Anti-Humiliation Diplomacy Committee, which included three South Korean National Assembly members in April, and also during the visit to Dokdo last month by Joo-guk, leader of the Innovation Party.