South Korean Fighter Jets Fly Near Disputed Islands In Sea of Japan

South Korea staged quite a display Tuesday as they flew fighter jets and other aircraft near Takeshima, a group of islands off Japan’s coast. The event was part of a ceremony marking South Korea’s Armed Forces Day that commemorates the military service of men and women.

The two countries have disputed over the island group since the year 1696 when Korea claims that Japan recognized the island group as Korean territory. Even now they cannot agree on a name. Japan calls it Takeshima, which means bamboo islands. South Korea and presumably North Korea who also claim them call it Dokdo, which means solitary islands. To make matters more confusing, in 1849 French whalers named the islands Liancourt Rocks after the name of their ship.

More recently, Seoul has controlled them since 1945 when Tokyo's 35-year colonial rule over the Korean peninsula ended after WW2. In a November 2018 article, National Geographic described the islands as “seemingly inconsequential craggy islets.” They lie between Japan and Korea in the Sea of Japan, but a quick Google Maps search will show that they lie closer to South Korea's mainland than the Japanese mainland.

The islands themselves consist of two main islands and about 30 smaller rocks. A South Korean coastguard detachment has been stationed there since 1954. The islands are about 230,000 square meters in size and the surrounding waters are a valuable fishing region.

The ceremony was held 238 km southeast of Seoul at Daegu Air Base where the fighter jets were dispatched in what was called a demonstration of an airspace defense mission.

Japan was quick to respond when Shigeki Takizaki, director-general of the Japanese Foreign Ministry’s Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, telephoned a minister at the South Korean Embassy in Tokyo to protest the flyovers.

Then, Japan’s Defense Minister Taro Kono said, “Anyone can see that Japan and South Korea must cooperate in ensuring security (against North Korea), so I wonder whether the defense authorities should have taken such action. I would like them to act sensibly.”

At the ceremony, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said his nation’s military is a military of peace that will lead the way for reconciliation and cooperation with North Korea, as well as a military of patriotism. F-35A stealth fighter jets procured from the United States were also unveiled at the ceremony.

Both countries are considered U.S. allies, but the animosities still simmer because of the WW 2 Japanese occupation where Koreans and other people were used as forced labor and subjected to other atrocities.