Japan and South Korea resume defense exchanges after agreeing on measures to prevent recurrence of 2018 radar incident

SINGAPORE – Defense Minister Minoru Kihara and his South Korean counterpart Shin Won-sik agreed to resume bilateral defense exchanges at a meeting in Singapore on Saturday. They issued a joint press statement and a document outlining measures to prevent the recurrence of a 2018 radar lock-on incident, the biggest issue between the two countries’ defense authorities.

Since South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s government announced a package of measures in March 2023 to resolve lawsuits related to wartime workers requisitioned from the Korean Peninsula, bilateral ties between Japan and South Korea have improved in several areas , such as politics and economics, improved. With the latest agreement, the two governments expect bilateral security cooperation to also improve.

According to the joint press statement, Kihara and Shin agreed that defense cooperation between Japan and South Korea is essential not only to contain threats from North Korea, but also to realize a free and open Indo-Pacific . In addition, the two ministers reached agreements on holding annual vice-defense ministerial-level talks, resuming working-level defense dialogues and resuming high-level exchanges between the Self-Defense Forces and the South Korean military.

In December 2018, a South Korean Navy destroyer locked its fire control radar on a Maritime Self-Defense Force P-1 patrol aircraft off the coast of the Noto Peninsula. Tokyo has lodged a protest with Seoul against the incident. South Korea denies the radar lock-on incident and defense exchanges between the two countries’ authorities have since been suspended.

The joint press statement mentioned the lock-on incident as an issue that could lead to the prevention of security cooperation between Japan and South Korea, as well as between Japan, South Korea and the United States. The statement did not say whether the radar was actually aimed at the MSDF aircraft, effectively suspending the case.

The measures document says Japan and South Korea must comply with the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea (CUES), the international standards adopted in 2014 by major countries including the two countries. It also said the MSDF and the South Korean Navy will strengthen communications under normal circumstances and build mutual trust. Since the CUES does not allow locking of the fire control radar, Japan believes this will ensure the prevention of similar incidents.

After the meeting, Kihara said: “The security of the MSDF will be protected with these measures. Through today’s results, we will revive defense cooperation and exchanges between Japan and South Korea.”