[Text/Observer Network Wang Meng]
According to Yonhap News Agency, the South Korean Ministry of Defense and Navy stated on the 27th that it will send naval ship to attend the Japanese Self-Defense Force ship review ceremony scheduled to be held in the Sagami Bay area of Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan on next month on 6th. This will be the second time South Korea has participated in the Japanese ship reading ceremony after 7 years.
South Korea's Ministry of Defense stated that considering that South Korean Navy has participated in the international ship reading ceremony held in Japan twice, and the international ship reading practices, it has made a decision to participate in the ship reading ceremony.
Yonhap News Agency screenshot
It is reported that although the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force will use "almost exactly the same flag as ' Rising Sun Flag '", South Korea said that the "Rising Sun Flag" of the Japanese Self-Defense Force has been used since 1953 and has been recognized by the international community and other international practices." As soon as the news came out, it caused huge controversy among the Korean people, and some Korean netizens cursed the government of Yoon Seok-yeon.
South Korea's SBS TV station reported that this time, the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force will use the "Rising Sun Flag". Photo from SBS TV news website
South Korea's Ministry of Defense explained that the joint transnational humanitarian exercises and the Western Pacific Naval Forum (WPNS) attended by the chiefs of the naval staff of more than 30 countries will be held as an opportunity. South Korea will attend these activities to enhance friendship with the navies of friendly countries and deepen maritime security cooperation with neighboring countries and the international community. "In view of the recent 'continuous provocation' of North Korea, the escalation of tensions on the Korean Peninsula," the Navy's attendance at this ship review is of great significance in terms of security, and the South Korean Ministry of Defense "prioritizes this factor and decides to participate in the ship review."
It is reported that during this ship review, the South Korean government will dispatch 11,000-ton combat support ships instead of combat ships. Relevant sources from the South Korean military said that the South Korean military does not need to send combat ships to the search and rescue exercises, and this move also takes into account the situation around the Korean Peninsula. The ship can carry 137 people. It will depart from Zhenhai Port, South Korea on the 29th of this month and enter Yokosuka Port, Japan on the 1st of next month. After conducting the preparatory exercise, South Korea will officially participate in the ship reading ceremony on the 6th next month, and conduct a multinational joint exercise with the national ships participating in the ship reading ceremony on the 7th.
South Korean Navy's "Shaoyang" (AOE-51) supply ship, standard displacement of 11,000 tons Picture from South Korean Navy
On October 15, 2015, the South Korean Army's "Daejo-young" destroyer participated in the Japanese Self-Defense Force ship review ceremony held in the Sagami Bay waters of Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Photo from Yonhap News Agency
report pointed out that South Korea stated that the exercise was a "humanitarian naval search and rescue exercise" (SAREX), training to search and rescue ships that have suffered shipwrecks and fires. The South Korean Ministry of Defense believes that the exercises will help improve interoperability with the navies of friendly countries and can contribute to the development of maritime security cooperation in the region. South Korean Navy Chief of Staff Lee Jong-ho will go to Japan to attend the ship reading, the Western Pacific Naval Forum and the Navy Search and Rescue Exercise.
However, Yonhap News Agency pointed out that the flag used by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force is almost exactly the same as the "Rainbow Sun Flag", so the South Korean government's decision may cause criticism. However, relevant personnel from the South Korean military said that considering the use of the "Rising Sun Flag" of the Japanese Self-Defense Force since 1953 and has been recognized by the international community.
Before the official announcement of the South Korean Ministry of Defense, a senior official of the South Korean government said in a telephone interview with Yonhap News Agency that the regular meeting of the Standing Committee of the South Korean Home Security Meeting (NSCh) held that the regular meeting of the Standing Committee held that morning had initially decided to send the navy to attend the ship reading ceremony held by Japan. However, it is reported that the opinions agreed and opposed to participating in the ship reading style at the meeting were tit-for-tat.
In January this year, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force invited AIA navies from South Korea and other Western Pacific regions to participate in the international fleet ship reading ceremony held to celebrate its 70th anniversary. After many discussions on this, the South Korean government finally decided to participate in consideration of the improvement of South Korea-Japan relations and security cooperation.
The decision of the South Korean army to participate in this ship reading aroused anger from the Korean people. As soon as the news came out, it immediately caused public controversy. Under the news report of South Korea's SBS TV, some netizens commented: "The pro-Japanese political parties that came out of the trash can have no rejection of the 'Rising Sun Flag', and they will be happy.”
Under the relevant reports in the news portal Nate, South Korea's SK Communications operated, more Korean netizens expressed their objections to this incident. Some netizens said: "Salute to Japan's 'Rising Sun Flag' is itself a pleasure to accept that South Korea is a colony, and doing so is tantamount to traitors. "There are also netizens who ironic, "Honey, 30,000 emperor html", "Take this opportunity to merge with Japan."
More people opened fire at Yoon Seo-yue's government, scolding Yoon Seo-yue's government for being "crazy", and said, "This behavior is surrendering to Japan" and "wanting to anger the Korean people to death."
According to reports, this will be the second time South Korea participated in the Japanese ship reading after seven years. South Korea participated in the Japanese ship reading in 2002 and 2015, while Japan participated in the Korean ship reading in 1998 and 2008. South Korea also invited the Japanese Self-Defense Force to participate in the ship reading in Jeju Road in 2018, and notified the Japanese side not to hang at sea. The "Rising Sun Flag" of Guard can only use the Japanese flag, and the Japanese side finally gave up participating in the Korean ship reading style.
According to public information, during World War II , Japanese soldiers held the "Rising Sun Flag" to burn, kill and loot, which made the "Rising Sun Flag" a symbol of aggression war and militarism. Historically, Japan had annexed and colonized the Korean Peninsula, so the Koreans were particularly concerned about the "Rising Sun Flag". South Korea has always expressed dissatisfaction with Japan's use of the "Rising Sun Flag" in international occasions and prohibited the use of this flag at home.
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