By Chung Min-uck
The government showed a cautious attitude toward the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) chairman Hong Joon-pyo’s suggestion on stationing Marine Corps to the eastern islets of Dokdo.
Hong called on the government Sunday to substitute the current Coast Guard with Marines in order to reinforce military power in the islets and the eastern sea. Hong also claimed that high-level government officials including foreign minister Kim Sung-hwan and defense minister Kim Kwan-jin had concurred with his idea.
Yet the cabinet and the respective ministries responded with discretion.
“I think he said what a party chairman could say,” said an official from the presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae. “Regarding this problem the prime minister already said during a parliamentary interpellation session that it will be reviewed in the long-term. This is the government’s stance.”
Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik said in April that it is worthy of reviewing the dispatch of powerful troops to the islets.
But the official revealed concern that such moves would lead Japan to have an upper hand over the issue of Dokdo islets as it has tried to turn them into a disputed area in a bid to claim sovereignty.
“The word ‘review’ can lead to making Dokdo a disputed area,” said the official.
Insiders say that stationing Marines in Dokdo is what the Japanese conservative forces want, as it gives Japan the excuse of stationing its Self-Defense Forces instead of the current Japan Coast Guards near the islets causing the foreign community to recognize the islets as disputed area. The Japanese government has been deploying the level of forces to Dokdo according to that of Korea’s.
The officials from the foreign and defense ministries also showed cautious attitudes over the stationing of Marine Corps.
An official from the foreign ministry said that it is not in the national interest to station Marines when there are no signs of Japanese military maneuvers on Dokdo.
The defense ministry official also made it clear what they have said to Hong, saying it was just a basic reply that they are ready to dispatch whenever the government commands it.