Ahead of the first summit between South Korean and Japanese leaders, Seoul 'heats up' the territorial dispute issue

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol will hold his first summit with new Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru on October 10, but Seoul has accused Tokyo of obstructing research activities around a disputed archipelago.

The disputed Dokdo Islands in the East Sea of ​​Korea, which Japan also claims and calls Takeshima.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency cited data from the country's Coast Guard as saying that Japan has interfered with Seoul's marine research activities around the disputed islands, which it calls Dokdo while Tokyo also claims sovereignty and calls Takeshima, more than 70 times in the past five years.

Accordingly, Japanese patrol ships have been following South Korean scientific research vessels. Yonhap accused Tokyo of interfering with about half of the total 131 times Seoul conducted research around the Dokdo/Takeshima islands in the past five years.

This year, South Korea has conducted 12 studies as of the end of July, of which Japan has attempted to block four. Japan has not responded to the information.

This accusation was made in the context of attention being focused on the first summit between South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and new Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru, scheduled to take place today, October 10, on the sidelines of the ASEAN+ Summit in the Lao capital Vientiane.

A week earlier, the two leaders had their first phone call, discussing the need for bilateral cooperation as well as trilateral cooperation with the US to deal with threats from North Korea.

During the phone call, the two sides agreed to continue to maintain regular “shuttle diplomacy” and meet soon to have a frank discussion on bilateral relations as well as other issues of mutual concern.

Relations between Japan and South Korea have improved significantly after President Yoon decided to resolve a long-standing dispute over Tokyo's wartime forced labor by compensating victims without requiring Japanese companies to contribute.

However, the Dokdo/Takeshima Islands dispute remains a source of tension in relations between the two countries as Tokyo continues to assert its sovereignty over the islands in documents, policies, public statements, and textbooks.

Korea effectively controlled the Dokdo Islands after liberation from Japanese rule from 1910-45.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/truoc-them-cuoc-gap-thuong-dinh-dau-tien-giua-led-han-quoc-va-nhat-ban-seoul-lam-nong-van-de-tranh-chap-lanh-tho-289517.html