By Lee Tae-hoon
Seoul will carry out a biannual military drill later this week in waters off Korea’s easternmost islets of Dokdo without mobilizing Marines in an apparent attempt to ease tensions with Japan, military officials said Monday.
The Marine Corps have carried out a landing exercise on Dokdo in East Sea under a scenario that an armed force of another nation invades the rocky islets as part of the regular drill carried out since 1996.
“It is so obvious why the government suddenly decided not to allow the Marines to participate in the exercise,” a senior official of the Navy said, hinting that the decision was largely based on political considerations.
A senior official of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) noted that the upcoming drill will be carried out under a new scenario that Japanese civilians attempt to make an illegal landing on the remote islets.
“The Coast Guard will lead the upcoming joint drill with the military providing a supporting role,” he said.
The JCS official noted that the military was in a “Catch-22,” as it wanted to go ahead as planned to reaffirm its resolve to defend the islets, but also could not ignore concerns raised by Cheong Wa Dae.
Another JCS official pointed out that presidential officials were opposed to the idea of deploying the Marines for fears of further aggravating bilateral ties with Japan.
“Should Japan respond militarily to the deployment of the Marines, or claim it as evidence of a territorial dispute, Korea may have more to lose than gain,” he added.
The military had deferred the regular exercise, which has been carried out since 1996, until Sept. 7 due to inclement weather and tensions between the two nations over the islets.
“We are certain that the exercise will be held without a further delay for four days near the Dokdo islets,” he said.
Col. Lee Boong-woo, spokesman of the JCS, said the military will not significantly downsize the scale of the upcoming drill, to which some of the country’s most advanced military assets, such as F-15K fighter jets and 3,200-ton destroyer, are usually mobilized.
About 100 Marines used to participate in the Dokdo exercise, which usually involved rappelling onto the islets from helicopters.
The last such drill was held in February.
Tensions remain high between Seoul and Tokyo over Dokdo since President Lee Myung-bak made an unprecedented visit to the East Sea islets that Japan refers to as Takeshima and has long laid claims.