SEOUL, December 16. /TASS/. The government of the Republic of Korea has lodged a protest with Tokyo over what it describes as "unfounded territorial claims" to the Dokdo Islands contained in Japan's new National Security Strategy.
"The government of the Republic of Korea strongly protests Japan's unsubstantiated claims, contained in the updated National Security Strategy, about the territorial affiliation of the Dokdo Islands, which are clearly a territory of the Republic of Korea historically, geographically and in accordance with international law. We insistently call for dropping this claim," the South Korean Foreign Ministry said on its website.
The Japanese authorities released the strategy on Friday.
"Repeated unfounded statements about Tokyo's claims to Dokdo by no means help build a future-oriented bilateral relationship," the South Korean Foreign Ministry said. The South Korean side stressed that Japan's "claims" would have no effect on the Republic of Korea's sovereignty over the islands and that Seoul would "resolutely respond to any provocation."
The Dokdo Islands (Takeshima, also known as the Liancourt Rocks) have been in the focus of a dispute between Tokyo and Seoul for decades. At the moment, this tiny archipelago is controlled by the Republic of Korea. It had been incorporated into a Japanese prefecture in 1905. Japan lost control of the archipelago after World War II.