Japan urges South Korea to halt marine survey

By Isabel Reynolds

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan summoned South Korea’s ambassador
on Wednesday to demand that Seoul halt a survey of disputed
waters that began earlier in the day.

Tokyo also said it may conduct its own research in the
area.

A South Korean survey ship escorted by a patrol boat
entered what Japan considers to be its exclusive economic zone
near islands at the center of a territorial dispute between the
two countries around 6:40 a.m. (2140 GMT), Japan’s coast guard
said.

Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Shotaro Yachi summoned South
Korean Ambassador Ra Jong-yil to a meeting at 10 a.m. (0100
GMT) to lodge a protest against the survey, the foreign
ministry said.

South Korea and Japan came close to a high-seas showdown in
April when Tokyo said it planned a survey in waters near the
desolate outcrop of islands called Tokto in Korean and
Takeshima in Japanese, but tensions eased after talks.

“It is extremely regrettable that South Korea has begun a
marine survey in the area where both countries claim exclusive
economic rights around Takeshima, despite our requests for
cancellation or postponement. We call for an immediate halt,”
Japan’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

“If necessary, we will carry out a survey at an appropriate
time,” the ministry said.

The coast guard said it was tracking the South Korean
ships.

“We are observing the ships from alongside and calling on
them via radio in Korean to halt the survey,” a coast guard
spokesman said. “We will continue to do this,” he added.

The islands sit in rich fishing grounds, and South Korea’s
state gas company says they lie above unexploited gas hydrate
deposits potentially worth billions of dollars.

Japan has called for calm over the dispute, and the head of
the coast guard has said Japan will not attempt to seize the
ships because this would be a breach of international law.