South Korea kicks off naval showcase without Japan after row over controversial ‘Rising Sun’ flag
Tokyo earlier pulled out of the international fleet review after Seoul protested the use of a naval flag that many Asian countries see as a symbol of past military aggression
South Korea on Wednesday kicked off an international fleet review involving 13 nations, after Japan bowed out in protest at Seoul’s demand it remove a controversial ‘Rising Sun’ naval flag from Tokyo’s warship.
The five-day event off the southern island of Jeju had initially included the Japanese navy, whose plan to fly the flag caused fury and a series of anti-Tokyo protests in its former colony.
The emblem has been an ensign for Japan’s Maritime Self-Defence Forces since 1954, but is seen in much of east Asia as a symbol of its military aggression during the second world war.
Koreans remain resentful of Japan’s 1910-45 colonisation of the peninsula and the neighbours – both of them US allies --- have often locked horns over issues of history and a territorial row over Seoul-controlled islets also claimed by Tokyo.
Tokyo last week withdrew from the review after Seoul’s navy asked all participating countries to display only their national flag and the South’s on their vessels.