South Korean drills near disputed islets trigger protest from Japan

By Anadolu staff

ANKARA (AA) - Japan Thursday lodged a "strong" protest with South Korea over military drills conducted in waters near disputed remote islets in the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, local media reported.

The islets, called Takeshima in Japan and Dokdo in South Korea, are controlled by Seoul but claimed by Tokyo.

Masaaki Kanai, head of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, told the South Korean Embassy in Tokyo that the exercises were "totally unacceptable and extremely regrettable," according to the Kyodo news agency.

The islets, he said, are "clearly an integral part of Japanese territory in light of historical facts and international law."

Earlier in the day, the South Korean navy said it carried out the drills, the first since President Lee Jae Myung took office last month.

According to Seoul-based Yonhap News, South Korean troops did not land on the islets and that the biannual regular training similar in scale to previous years, was closed to the public.

* Writing by Aamir Latif