The United States Monday distanced itself from an on-and-off territorial dispute between its two Asian allies, leaving South Korea and Japan to hndle the issue of Dokdo islets themselves.
"I think you leave it to both South Korea and Japan to each describe that relationship," State Department Sean McCormack was quoted as saying in a daily briefing by Yonhap News. "We independently have good relationships with them."
"It's an issue for the two countries," McCormack said. "As I understand, it relates to a long-standing territorial dispute between the two countries."
The spokesman dismissed concerns over any long-term adverse impact of the issue on the two Asian neighbors, saying, "I think they have a history of some differences on some issues, but I think overall they have a good relationship."
"But this is not a new issue," he said. "And I think every three years or so it's an issue that comes up, specifically on this territorial dispute."
South Korea Monday summoned its ambassador to Japan in protest against the Japanese Education Ministry's release of new guidelines for middle school textbooks describing the Dokdo islets in the East Sea as Japanese territory.
The territorial dispute has been a headache for the U.S. government as it has often driven a chasm between Washington's two closest allies in Asia at a time when they need to cooperate closely in dealing with North Korea's nuclear weapons ambitions and regional security issues.