South Korean naval ships will dock in Japan, aiming to resolve row over ‘rising sun’ flag

Three South Korean warships are to dock in the Japanese port of Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, later this month and take part in naval exercises with their local counterparts, a deployment the militaries of both nations hope will help resolve a diplomatic row over the flag of Japan’s Maritime Self-Defence Forces (MSDF).

The three ships will dock with about 600 cadets from the South Korean navy, army and air force, according to the defence ministry in Seoul, before going on to make a port call in the Russian city of Vladivostok.

Given the strained diplomatic ties between the two nations, analysts have suggested the South Korean defence ministry’s decision not to embark the cadets on the Dokdo – a 14,300-ton amphibious assault ship – during the visit was wise.

Dokdo is the Korean name for a pair of rocky islets about halfway between the mainlands of Japan and Korea presently controlled by South Korea. Tokyo claims the islands are part of its sovereign territory and should be known as Takeshima.

The decision to go ahead with the visit to Sasebo, which is also an important US naval base, was made despite ongoing rumblings of discontent on both sides over Tokyo’s refusal to lower the MSDF ensign to take part in the five-day naval review. The flag – a red sun with rays emanating from the centre – is identified by many as an unpleasant reminder of imperial Japan’s invasion and brutal occupation of large parts of mainland Asia in the early decades of the 20th century.