South Korean Warship Locks Weapons Radar on Japanese Aircraft
|Here is another example of South Korea needlessly raising tensions with Japan:
Japan’s defense minister protested to South Korea Friday after one of Seoul’s warships allegedly trained a weapon-guiding radar on a Japanese patrol plane over the Sea of Japan.
Nikkei Asian Review
The incident, which took place the day before, resulted from “extremely dangerous behavior that could create unexpected consequences,” Takeshi Iwaya said.
He said that Tokyo would “strongly urge” Seoul to prevent it from happening again. The Japanese government lodged a protest with South Korea through diplomatic channels.
This is the first time the Japanese government has publicly leveled such accusations at South Korea. The incident could exacerbate already-strained relations between the neighbors, after a string of South Korean court rulings ordering compensation for citizens who were forced to work for Japanese companies during World War II.
At about 3 p.m. Thursday, a South Korean Gwanggaeto the Great-class destroyer locked its fire control radar on a P-1 patrol craft belonging to the Maritime Self-Defense Force, according to the Japanese Defense Ministry. The plane, based out of the Atsugi Air Base in Kanagawa Prefecture, was patrolling inside Japan’s exclusive economic zone off the Noto Peninsula and was “at a distance” from a disputed set of islets called Takeshima by Japan and Dokdo by South Korea, the ministry said.
You can read more at the link, but I doubt this was a mistake considering that South Korea has been busy executing a Dokdo defense drill this month against the imaginary Japanese invasion of Dokdo while ignoring the very real threat of a North Korean invasion.
Lock on a JSDF aircraft within its own airspace but ignore the 300+ incursions into ROK airspace by the Chinese & remove any barriers to the Norks coming south. I am at a loss to an example of such utter stupidity without resorting to Darwin Awards.
If they really did “lock on” with a tracking radar, that’s literally an act of war. And pretty damned stupid.
That destroyer got lucky that it wasn’t a SDF plane with any weaponry.
South Korea should review what obsolete aircraft firing obsolete missiles did to ships in the Falklands War.
The missiles Japan’s military uses might be a deterrent. Especially with Moon’s seeming eagerness to end US protection of South Korea. Because we would be still protecting Japan.