Korea-Japan defense minister meeting after 4 years… Finding a solution to the ‘Patrol Clash’

Minister Lee Jong-seop mentioned discussions on patrol aircraft conflicts in the Defense Committee of the National Assembly
2-4 Korean-Japanese Defense Ministers’ Meeting at the Asian Security Conference in Singapore
Refutation of “appropriate action” to North Korea’s inadequate response to space launch vehicles

[이데일리 김관용 기자] Defense Minister Lee Jong-seop will meet Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada in Singapore on the 2nd to the 4th to seek a solution to the ‘patrol aircraft conflict’, which has been identified as an obstacle to cooperation between military authorities South Korea. and Japan.

On the 1st, at the general meeting of the National Assembly’s National Defense Committee, Minister Lee replied, “We will discuss it naturally” to Justice Party lawmaker Bae Jin-gyo’s question, “Are you discussing the patrol plane conflict with Japan during the Korea -Japan Defense Ministers’ Meeting?”

Minister Lee and Defense Minister Hamada will hold a Korea-Japan defense ministerial meeting on the occasion of attending the 20th Asian Security Conference (Shangri-La Dialogue) held at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore on the 2nd to the 4th. The Korea-Japan Defense Ministers’ Meeting will be held for the first time in about four years since the meeting on the occasion of the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM-Plus) held in Thailand in November 2019.

Minister Lee emphasized, “We are well aware of the situation of both sides,” and “we will try to resolve this issue (patrol aircraft conflict) in a wise way for the development of bilateral relations in a future-oriented manner. ”

However, the Korean military has reportedly decided to withdraw the ‘Japanese patrol aircraft countermeasures guideline’, which required Japanese Self-Defense Force aircraft not to respond to our side’s warning communications and confront them by irradiate radar tracking in the last step close. About this, he said, “It is not true.”

In addition, Minister Lee said, “We are continuing efforts to raise the level of cooperation” regarding the downgrading of Japan from 2nd to 5th among Korea’s “security cooperation target countries” in December 2018 during the Moon Jae-in administration. He explained, “It is desirable that the site automatically rises when discussing various issues (with Japan),” and “we are working hard to strengthen our cooperative relationship.”

The patrol aircraft clash was triggered on December 20, 2018, when the Japanese side claimed that the ROK Navy ship Gwanggaeto the Great, which was searching for a North Korean fishing boat in distress in the East Sea, fired a fire control radar at the Japanese Navy. Self-Defense Force P-1 patrol aircraft that flew near the ship It’s an incident. Our side refuted that there was no radar investigation, and rather that the patrol plane made a low flying threat near the Gwanggaeto Fawr. The position of both sides has been maintained until today.

On the other hand, Minister Lee refuted the point that the military’s response was insufficient immediately after the North’s space launch the day before. Minister Lee said, “I evaluate that the National Security Office and our military have taken overall good measures, from (North Korea’s) preparations to the launch process and the dissemination of warnings immediately after launch.” Appropriate measures have been taken,” he said. .