June 15, 2021: South Korea has launched annual military exercises near a group of remote islands, which Japan also claims. The long-running territorial dispute was a threat to preparations for the Tokyo Olympics.
The exercises on the Dodko islands referred to as Takeshima in Japan, come just days after the meeting between the leaders of the two countries on the sidelines of the Cornwall G7 summit. Earlier this month, South Korea filed a complaint with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) after Tokyo 2020 organizers identified the islands as Japanese on an online map that I was shown the way to the Olympic torch relay. The start of annual military exercises is expected to strain relations, which have been fueled by recent disputes over the countries’ bitter wartime history.
Despite their status as key allies of the United States and a shared interest in North Korea’s dinuclearisation, Tokyo and Seoul are embroiled in disagreements over Japan’s wartime sexual slavery and the use of labor that mined before and during World War II. They were forced to work in tunnels and factories.
South Korea’s defense ministry said naval, air and coast guard forces would be involved in the exercise, which would be carried out at sea with minimal contact between troops due to fears of the corona virus. The Yonhap News Agency reported that a rumored meeting between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshide Suga was canceled last weekend after a dispute on the exercises continued.
The Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper reported that Moon had been planning to tell Suga of his desire to attend the Olympics opening ceremony on 23 July in a public show of support for the controversial Games. The visit would also be an opportunity for the two men to hold their first talks.
Moon said he was disappointed not to have met Suga during the G7. “My first encounter with prime minister Suga would have been a precious chance [for] a new start in the South Korea-Japan relationship, but I am sorry that it could not develop into a meeting,” he said in a Facebook post.
Japanese officials said the meeting was called off due to schedule concerns. According to Reuters, a Foreign Ministry official in Seoul would not confirm if the exercises were canceled, saying only that “regular exercises are held every year to defend our territory.”
Exercises around the South Korean-controlled islands have been held twice a year since 1986, leading to repeated demonstrations by Japan, which insists they are “natural” Japanese. “The exercises are unacceptable and very regrettable,” Katsunobu Kato, Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, said on Tuesday. “We have protested against the South Korean government and demanded that they be stopped.” Kato added that there was no truth in the reports that Moon had planned to go to Tokyo during the Olympics.
Stay tuned to BaaghiTV for latest news and Updates!
