This undated file photo, provided by the Navy, shows warships taking part in a defense exercise near Dokdo in 2019.
SEOUL, July 8 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea conducted regular military drills last month to enhance defense capabilities of its easternmost islets of Dokdo, a defense official said Friday.
The exercise took place in waters near the islets late last month at a similar scale as the previous year, the official told reporters on condition of anonymity, without providing details.
Under the current Yoon Suk Yeol administration, which launched in May last year, the biannual drills have taken place in a relatively smaller scale, mobilizing Navy and Coast Guard vessels.
The military has previously deployed Marines and Air Force aircraft for the exercise.
“The East Sea territory defense exercise was carried out to conduct our mission to protect our territory, people and property,” the official said, using the official name of the drills.
Japan reportedly lodged a protest over the drills through a diplomatic channel. It has persistently laid claim to the East Sea outcroppings.
In response, an official at Seoul’s foreign ministry reiterated that Dokdo is “our inherent territory” historically, geographically and by international law.
“(The government) will respond sternly and strictly to any improper claim by Japan regarding Dokdo,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
Dokdo, which lies closer to South Korea in the body of water between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, has long been a thorn in relations between the two countries. South Korea keeps a small police detachment on the islets, effectively controlling them.
The latest drills came as relations between South Korea and Japan have warmed significantly since March, when Seoul offered to resolve a row over wartime forced labor by compensating the Korean victims without asking for contributions from Japanese firms.
South Korea launched the Dokdo drills in 1986 and has conducted them twice a year since 2003.
(Yonhap)
