Japan has lodged a protest with South Korea over military exercises it has conducted on disputed islands, saying it is “extremely regrettable”, the foreign ministry said in a statement issued on Friday.
The foreign ministry said it had summoned a senior diplomat at the South Korean embassy in Tokyo, and the Japanese embassy in Seoul had also summoned a senior South Korean official to carry out the protest.
“Takeshima is undeniably Japan’s inherent territory, in light of historical facts and international law, exercises of the South Korean military are unacceptable and extremely regrettable.”
The two nations have long disputed sovereignty over a group of islands called Takeshima in Japan and Dokdo in Korea, which lie roughly halfway between their East Asian neighbors in the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea.
“The East Sea territorial defense exercise was conducted to carry out our mission to protect our territory, people and property,” a South Korean military official said.
The South Korean military routinely conducts military exercises every year, the official added.
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