Japan-S. Korea Defense Drill Unlikely to Take Place This Month

Tokyo, Nov. 18 (Jiji Press)–South Korea has informed Japan of its intention not to conduct a planned joint search-and-rescue drill this month, sources in Japan’s government and ruling coalition said Tuesday. The drill had been arranged between Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force and the South Korean navy. Some say the South Korean move may be apparent retaliation for the Japanese side’s recent cancelation of refueling for aircraft from the South Korean air force. Concern is rising that defense exchanges between Tokyo and Seoul may be stalled again. Joint exercises between Japan’s Self-Defense Forces and the South Korean military were completely halted in the wake of an incident in December 2018 in which a South Korean warship directed a fire-control radar at an MSDF patrol aircraft over the Sea of Japan. In November 2024, a joint drill was conducted for the first time in about seven years, following an improvement in bilateral relations thanks to efforts led by former Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and former South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol. The positive mood changed early this month. The Japanese side had planned to refuel South Korean air force planes heading to an airshow in the Middle East at the Air SDF’s Naha base in the southernmost Japan prefecture of Okinawa But Japan canceled the refueling after the South Korean air force planes were found to have flown around the Sea of Japan islets of Takeshima, which are under the effective control of South Korea and have been claimed by Japan. Meanwhile, the South Korean side canceled its military band’s participation in the SDF’s three-day music festival held in Tokyo through Saturday. A source in Japan’s Defense Ministry said that the move was probably retaliation. A defense-related official in Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party expressed worry over the situation, saying, “The mood is tense.” An SDF official sounded optimistic, however. “What we have achieved so far won’t collapse suddenly,” the official said, adding that the search-and-rescue drill will likely be held at an appropriate time. “The importance of the cooperation between Japan and South Korea and among the two plus the United States has not changed at all,” Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi told a press conference Tuesday. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]