The crew of a Korea Coast Guard ship unfurls banners carrying the phrase “Let’s Overcome the Coronavirus” near the country’s easternmost Dokdo Islets, in this file photo taken Sept. 2, 2021, eight days ahead of the 68th anniversary of Korea Coast Guard Day. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Apr. 16 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea “strongly” protested against Japan on Tuesday after Tokyo issued an annual diplomatic report renewing its territorial claims to the South’s easternmost islets of Dokdo.
To lodge a protest over the report, South Korea’s foreign ministry called in Taisuke Mibae, the deputy chief of mission at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul.
The claim, strongly disputed by South Korea, which has long maintained effective control of Dokdo with the permanent stationing of security personnel there, was included in the 2024 Diplomatic Bluebook that was reported to the Cabinet by Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa.
In this year’s report, Japan continued to claim that Dokdo is Japanese territory historically and under international law, and that South Korea is carrying on with an “illegal occupation” of the area.
“The government strongly protests against the Japanese government’s repeated unfair territorial claims over Dokdo, which is clearly our own territory historically, geographically and under international law, as announced in its Diplomatic Bluebook released on April 16, and urges (Japan) to withdraw it immediately,” foreign ministry spokesperson Lim Soo-suk said in a commentary.
Lim added that such claims by Japan have no impact whatsoever on South Korea’s sovereignty over the islets, which are Korea’s inherent territory.
South Korea has long maintained the position that Dokdo is an integral part of Korean territory historically, geographically and under international law.
In the report, Japan again took issue with the South Korean Supreme Court’s ruling that ordered Japanese companies to compensate South Koreans forced into wartime labor during Japan’s 1910-1945 colonial rule.
(Yonhap)
