By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
Japan has described the islets of Dokdo in the East Sea as its own territory in this year's defense white paper again, diplomatic sources in Seoul said Monday.
It is the fourth consecutive time in a row that Japan's annual defense white paper has referred to Dokdo, effectively controlled by South Korea, as its own.
The Seoul government is closely watching if Japan will make stronger claims to Dokdo in the document, officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said.
Japan's defense attache notified Korea's foreign ministry on the contents of the paper in the morning, an official said.
Seoul will clarify its position after the Japanese Cabinet acts on it Friday, he said.
Japan laid claim to Dokdo in the paper, saying the issues of Japanese territory _ the Kuril Islands and Takeshima, the Japanese name for Dokdo _ remain unresolved.
The Japanese Defense Ministry invited military attaches from foreign embassies Monday to brief them on the outlines of this year's white paper, sources said.
A spokesman for Seoul's foreign ministry said that ``it's not appropriate to mention countermeasures at a time when we don't know yet exactly what contents will be included in Japan's defense white paper.''
``We will come up with them in consultations with the Ministry of National Defense and other agencies if needed after confirming the level of contents in the paper,'' he said.
Another ministry official said, ``We expect this year's edition will contain a similar level of expressions. But it cannot be ruled out that Japan will make a stronger claim on Dokdo swayed by the stronger voice of Japan's right wing.''
The scheduled tripartite summit between the leaders of South Korea, China and Japan is likely to be affected by the dispute over Dokdo, he added. President Lee Myung-bak remains undecided if he will participate in the summit or not.
Japan has stepped up its claim to Dokdo in recent years. In July, Japan renewed this in an educational handbook for teachers, prompting Seoul to recall its ambassador.
Located roughly halfway between South Korea and Japan in the East Sea, the rocky islets have been at the center of a decade-old row between the two neighboring countries. The area surrounding the islets is believed to be rich in fishing and undersea resources.
The islets were annexed by Japan along with the Korean Peninsula in 1910, but Tokyo claims its territorial rights to the islets were declared five years before the start of Japanese colonial rule between 1910 and 1945.
Seoul has stationed a 50-strong police contingent on Dokdo since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War to reinforce its ownership.
The Ministry of National Defense said in July 28 that its biennial defense white paper for this year will include more phrases reaffirming South Korea's sovereignty over Dokdo than those in previous editions.
``The 2006 Defense White Paper has three phrases reaffirming our ownership of Dokdo, but this year's paper will have more than that,'' a senior policymaker at the ministry said. ``Japan has referred to the Dokdo islets as its own territory in its defense white papers, so we've felt the need to reaffirm that the islets are under our jurisdiction and is territory that our forces must protect.''
In the 2006 paper, the Dokdo islets are described as part of our territories under jurisdiction. The ROK (Republic of Korea) Armed Forces ``have conducted vigilant patrol activities using naval vessels, submarines and aircraft on the seas under their jurisdiction, including the five major northwestern islands, Marado, Ulleungdo and Dokdo islands,'' the paper states in a chapter on Seoul's military readiness posture against infiltrations and local provocation.
The official also said the ministry would consider publishing the defense paper annually to help promote South Korea's firm defense position on Dokdo.