Military and
maritime police are planning to carry out a drill later this month to
practice defense of the nation"s easternmost islets of Dokdo in the
event that the territory is invaded, military officials said Wednesday.

“The
military and maritime police have set up a plan to conduct a two-day
Dokdo defense drill in the East Sea and its surrounding waters at the
end of this month,” a naval officer said on condition of anonymity.

It
will be the first drill conducted since the United States and Japan
revised their defense guidelines on April 28, increasing concerns that
Tokyo may return to a state of militarism.

The
revision of the 1997 U.S.-Japan defense cooperation pact removes current
geographic limits on the role of Japan"s Self-Defense Forces, and
expands its role globally to help U.S. forces in military emergencies.

Japan
has recently renewed its territorial claims to Korea"s rocky
outcroppings of Dokdo in its middle school textbooks and Diplomatic
Bluebook, enraging the Korean public.

“Authorities
are expected to finalize the plan for the drill, which aims to repel
forces that approach the islets via a sea or air route, by next week,”
the officer said. “The schedule could be changed in accordance with
weather conditions though.”

He added that the Navy"s
elite Underwater Demolition Team (UDT) and the Marine Corps are
planning to participate in the drill that will also include a landing
exercise by a squad of Marines on the rocky islets.

The
planned exercise will involve five or six destroyers and convoys, as
well as some fighters and patrol planes, according to officials.

Seoul
has carried out the exercise twice a year since 1986 with the latest in
November, with Tokyo expressing displeasure each time. Marines could
not carry out the landing exercise in their latest drill due to bad
weather.

In response to protests from Tokyo about
Dokdo defense drills, Seoul has said that such claims are the equivalent
to Japan"s denial of Korea"s independence from its 1910-45 colonial
rule, as Seoul reclaimed sovereignty over all its territories ―
including Dokdo and many other islands around the Korean Peninsula ―
upon its independence.

In its 2014 Defense White
Paper, the Ministry of National Defense claimed that Japan"s territorial
claim to Korea"s Dokdo Islets is an obstacle that disrupts efforts by
the two countries to foster future-oriented relations.

The paper stated that Seoul will “strictly cope with Tokyo"s outrageous assertions” over its easternmost islets.

Follow Jun Ji-hye on Twitter @TheKopJihye

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2015/05/116_178409.html