South Korea conducts military drills around disputed islands with Japan
The disputed island issue between South Korea and Japan has resurfaced with the military carrying out military exercises in the disputed island area.
Yonhap news agency reported today (August 25) that on August 25 and 26, the South Korean military began conducting a military exercise around a small island that Japan also claims sovereignty over, a move that took place just days after South Korea decided to cancel the Military Intelligence Sharing Agreement with Japan amid increasingly deteriorating relations between the two countries.
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| South Korean ship. Photo: Defense News |
For a long time, the issue of sovereignty disputes over the islands related to the small island called Dokdo in Korea, or Takeshima in Japan, has always been one of the most sensitive issues in the relationship between these two neighboring countries.
Earlier in July, Japan also refused to remove images of disputed islands between the two countries from the online map of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
On July 23, Japan also sent a letter of protest to both South Korea and Russia after South Korean fighter jets were accused of firing 300 warning shots at a Russian military aircraft over the Takeshima/Dokdo island group, which is currently controlled by South Korea and claimed by Japan.
Since 2018, relations between Japan and South Korea have deteriorated rapidly due to South Korea's demand for compensation for wartime forced labor, Japan's strict control of exports to South Korea, and subsequent actions by both sides that are considered to be retaliation./.
