Will South Korea Join Japans International Fleet Review?
South Korea's Yun administration has yet to decide whether to send its warships to the Japan International Fleet Review 2022, which will host the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) next month. It becomes a question of how much Seoul can improve its strained relations with Tokyo.
JMSDF Chief of Staff Admiral Sakai Ryo said at an Oct. 25 press conference that South Korea has not yet confirmed whether it will participate in the naval review, although the Oct. 12 deadline for a response has passed.
"It's not like we've informed (the South Korean government) of their absence yet, so we'll wait for their response until the last moment," Sakai said.
To mark the 70th anniversary of the JMSDF, a review of the multinational ship will take place on November 6 in Sagami Bay, near Tokyo.
In August, Japan's Kishida administration announced its decision to request an international review of the Republic of Korea Navy's (ROKN) fleet, despite stiff opposition from Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lawmakers and several members of the JMSDF. They argued that Tokyo should not be too soft on Seoul because South Korea has never acknowledged or apologized for the December 2018 fire control radar attack by ROKN fighter jets on a JMSDF aircraft.
The South Korean government said at the time that the fighter jet used ordinary radar for search and rescue. Instead, Seoul accused the JMSDF of threatening the drill while the destroyer was taking part in a rescue operation involving a small North Korean fishing vessel.
Due to an undisclosed incident, the JMSDF did not invite the South Korean Navy to participate in the latest fleet review in 2019. However, the research was suspended after Typhoon Hagibis.
For its part, when considering the invitation to participate this year, the Yun administration must take into account strong and sensitive public opinion, especially the JMSDF's use of the Rising Sun flag. Seoul says the flag reminds South Koreans of Japan's occupation and military aggression on the Korean peninsula between 1910 and 1945.
Tokyo, for its part, has stated that the flag is the official flag of the JMSDF and must be flown in accordance with national flag legislation and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
In October 2018, the JMSDF withdrew from an international naval review organized by South Korea at the military port on the southern island of Jeju after Seoul rejected a request not to display the JMSDF's official flag. The JMSDF planned to send the helicopter carrier JS Izumo to the event.
According to South Korean media, the Yun administration will make the final decision on whether to attend the event at the National Security Council (NSC) meeting on October 27 and inform the Japanese side of the outcome.
As the US hopes for closer trilateral security cooperation between Tokyo, Washington and Seoul, amid North Korea's growing provocation and China's assertive military behavior, historical issues continue to overshadow the South's Japan-Korea rapprochement.
President Yun Suk-yeol has confirmed that he wants to restore ties, but is facing an opposition party that is taking a hard line against Japan on historical issues. The opposition Democratic Party continues to control the majority of South Korea's parliament.
The International Fleet Review is held as a demonstration of the goodwill of the participating countries and this year will be the first in Japan in 20 years. In addition to the 20 JMSDF ships, 18 ships from 12 countries, including the United States, Australia and India, are expected to participate. In June, Japan's Ministry of Defense announced that it had withdrawn its invitation to Russia in response to the attack on Ukraine.
The JMSDF said it has also invited China, but has not received a response about its participation even after the October 12 deadline, as has South Korea.
