Japan proposes to S. Korea to take island feud to ICJ
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E-mail Xinhua, August 21, 2012
The Japanese government on Tuesday formally proposed to South Korea that the two countries take their territorial feud over a group of disputed islets in the Sea of Japan (East Sea) to the Hague-based International Court of Justice (ICJ) for arbitration.
Government officials said that via embassy channels here an official diplomatic document was handed to the South Korean side on jointly approaching the ICJ, despite Seoul's previous statement that it would reject such a proposal.
Japan's move followed an unprecedented visit by South Korean President Lee Myung-bak on Aug. 10 to the islets, known as Takeshima in Japan and Dokdo in South Korea.
Lee is the first South Korean president to visit the islands, the ownership of which has been contented by the two nations for decades.
The South Korean leader's visit came just days before the Aug. 15 anniversary of Japan's World War II surrender, which ended its 35-year colonial rule over the Korean Peninsular.
During a ministerial meeting on the territorial issue Tuesday, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said that that South Korea should respond to Japan's proposal in a "thoughtful and cautious manner in order to develop bilateral ties," and work with Japan to " squarely" take the case to the ICJ for a resolution.
"Takeshima has been our territory historically and also under international law," Noda was quoted as telling his Cabinet ministers Tuesday. "We need to look into every possible measure we can take in the future."
During the special ministerial meeting Noda told his top government spokesperson Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura to ask other high-ranking ministers like Deputy Prime Minister Katsuya Okada and Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba to see what other actions Japan could take to "firmly respond to Lee's actions. "
Noda had previously described Lee's visit to the islands as both "unacceptable" and "very regrettable."
Prior to the South Korean President's trip, Tokyo had urged Seoul to cancel the visit, warning its neighbor that any visit would seriously undermine bilateral ties.
Fujimura told a news conference prior to Lee's arrival by helicopter to the islands, that the visit would be completely unacceptable to Tokyo and fly in the face of Japan's position.
Lee's visit prompted the recall of Japan's ambassador to South Korea.
However, in light of Seoul's rejection of jointly seeking arbitration by the ICJ, Japan will likely make a unilateral plea to the court, sources close to the matter said Tuesday.
South Korea instantly rejected two similar proposals by Japan in 1954 and 1962 and unequivocally believes it has sovereignty over the islands it calls Dokdo and that they inherently belong to its North Gyeongsang Province.
Japan, meanwhile, insists that the islands form part of its Shimane Prefecture. Experts said the islands may be located close to rich fishing waters and the seabed may contain potentially lucrative reserves of gas hydrates.
Finance Minister Jun Azumi has also said that Japan may scale back its currency swap deal with South Korea from the current 70- billion-U.S.-dollar level.
The bilateral currency swap contracts were designed to ensure the stability of the South Korean currency against other major currencies in the market, including the yen.
The swap agreement is designed to help South Korea retain the stability of its currency in times of a monetary crisis and unexpected fluctuations.
Government officials said that Azumi will be postponing this weekend's meeting with his counterpart in Seoul and local media also reported that Japan's Minister for Economy, Trade and Industry Yukio Edano has decided not to hold bilateral talks with South Korean officials at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations economic ministerial meeting scheduled for late August.
For his part, South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan said Japan's proposal, is "not worth consideration," local media reported. Kim warned that South Korea will take "stern measures against Japan if Japan continues to raise an unjustified issue over the islets."
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