Japan downgrades South Korea as security partner in defence white paper as ties fray
- Seoul dropped from second place to fourth on a list of Tokyo’s closest allies, according to a draft document
- Ties have deteriorated sharply after a series of court rulings in South Korea that ordered Japanese firms to pay damages for wartime labour
Japan will effectively lower South Korea’s standing as an important security cooperation partner in this year’s white paper on defence, a Defence Ministry source said on Friday, reflecting the worsening of bilateral ties.
In a chapter dedicated to Japan’s security cooperation with countries other than its closest ally, the United States, South Korea came second in 2018.
But its place has fallen to fourth this year after Australia, India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), according to a draft white paper on defence for 2019.
“In effect, [the order] means a downgrade” for South Korea, the ministry source said. The white paper is expected to be made public around mid-September.
The draft document urges Seoul to address Tokyo’s concerns “properly”, citing recent incidents, including one in December in which a South Korean destroyer allegedly locked its fire-control radar on a Japanese Self-Defence Force plane in Japan’s exclusive economic zone.
In the 2018 white paper, the Defence Ministry acknowledged that the two countries have “difficult bilateral issues” but added it is important to advance relations “in a future-oriented manner”.
