By Berk Kutay Gokmen
ISTANBUL (AA) - Japan, for the first time, will offer refueling support to South Korean military planes, the Air Self-Defense Force (ASDF) said Wednesday, as a South Korean aerobatic team will make a stop at a base in Okinawa in the coming weeks, according to Kyodo News.
The ASDF said the refueling mission will involve a South Korean aerobatic team known as the Black Eagles, which will briefly arrive at the Naha Air Base in Okinawa on Jan. 28 before heading to Saudi Arabia for an international defense exhibition.
Another refueling operation at a base in Naha, the capital of the southern island prefecture of Okinawa, is scheduled when the Black Eagles return to South Korea in late February.
The refueling operation was previously planned last November but was cancelled after Japan protested South Korea after Seoul conducted military drills near islands, known as Takeshima in Japan and Dokdo in South Korea, in December.
Japan and South Korea have no accord to facilitate the exchange of defense supplies and logistical support, known as an acquisition and cross-servicing agreement.
The refueling support will be conducted under the Self-Defense Forces Act that allows fuel to be loaned for free to other planes that have landed on Self-Defense Force bases.