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Japan urges South Korea to halt marine survey

Posted on: Tuesday, 4 July 2006, 19:46 CDT

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.

Source: REUTERS

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