Japan has lodged a protest through diplomatic chan-nels over South Korean defense drills allegedly conducted last week near disputed islands in the Sea of Japan, Japanese media reported on Wednesday.
The Korean news agency Yonhap reported ear-lier on Wednesday, citing sources, that South Korea had conducted routine defence drills near the dis-puted islands last week.
The drills were held in nearby waters and through computer simulations, and the troops did not set foot on the islands them-selves, according to the source, Yonhap said. The South Korean defence ministry and the navy have not confirmed the information.
Japanese Kyodo news reported the same day that the Japanese government lodged a strong pro-test with South Korea via diplomatic channels.
The Japanese defence ministry said that Japan will never accept such exercises and finds them “extremely regrettable,” the news reported.
The Liancourt Rocks called Dokdo Islands by Seoul and Takeshima Islands by Tokyo lie almost equidistant from Japan and South Korea, which maintains a small police force there.
For decades, the islands have been a bone of contention, with both sides claiming they have long-standing histori-cal ties to the archipelago, believed to be rich in natural resources.—AP
