Special report: Islets dispute between ROK and Japan

  

A member of ROK coast guard with a pair of binoculars on a patrol ship observes the two rocky South Korean-held islands, called Tokto in ROK and Takeshima in Japanese, east of ROK, in the East Sea  July 1, 2006.(Xinhua/AFP Photo)

Patrol ship of the ROK Coast Guard patroling near a group of disputed islets (background), known in ROK as "Dokdo" and in Japan as "Takeshima", in the East Sea (Sea of Japan) July 1, 2006.(Xinhua/AFP Photo)

    TOKYO, July 5 (Xinhua) -- Japan filed a protest with South Korea on Wednesday over a South Korean vessel's survey in a disputed exclusive economic zone (EEZ), Kyodo News said.

    Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Shotaro Yachi summoned South Korean Ambassador to Japan Ra Jong Yil to file the protest in the morning, the report said.

    According to the Japan Coast Guard, the South Korean ship was sailing in the disputed EEZ about 45 kilometers west-northwest of the islets known as Takeshima in Japan and Dokdo in South Korea around 6:40 a.m.

    The survey in the disputed area is "quite regrettable and we demand an immediate halt" to it, Foreign Ministry Press Secretary Yoshinori Katori said in the statement in the morning.

    Japan also may conduct its own maritime survey in waters near the islets, which had initially been planned in April, Katori said.

    A Japan Coast Guard ship is following South Korea's survey ship, while a South Korean patrol ship is escorting the survey ship, Kyodo News said, quoting the Japan Coast Guard.

    Seoul has confirmed that a 2,533-ton South Korean vessel launched a 12-day maritime research on Monday to collect data on salinity and temperature in a square section of waters between South Korea and Japan, including the waters near the disputed islets.

    In April, Tokyo and Seoul closely averted a confrontation over the disputed islands when Japan announced the intention to survey the ocean bed around them, leading South Korea to threaten to block its neighbor by force.

    The two countries compromised eventually, with Seoul dropping a proposal to submit Korean names for the area to an international oceanographic meeting and Japan calling off the maritime survey. Enditem

    Related: ROK survey ship enters disputed zone: Japan

    TOKYO, July 5 (Xinhua) -- A South Korean survey ship entered a disputed exclusive economic zone (EEZ) claimed by both Japan and South Korea in the Sea of Japan on Wednesday morning, a Japanese foreign ministry statement said.

    According to the statement, the vessel entered the disputed area around islets known as Takeshima in Japan and Dokdo in South Korea.

    The survey in the disputed area is "quite regrettable and we demand an immediate halt" to it, Foreign Ministry Press Secretary Yoshinori Katori said in the statement. Full story>>

    ROK starts to survey around disputed islets despite Japanese warning

    TOKYO, July 3 (Xinhua) -- Republic of Korea (ROK) started early Monday its research mission which is to survey ocean currents around a set of disputed islets controlled by ROK but also claimed by Japan, Kyodo News reported.

    The some 2,500-ton research vessel, dubbed "Ocean-2000", has departed from the Busan port in the morning, according to news reaching here.

    On the same day, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe once again urged ROK to exercise "self-restraint" on survey around the islands, which are known as Takeshima in Japan and Dokdo in ROK, in the Sea of Japan.  Full story>>