Japan withholds fleet review invite to South Korea

September 24, 2019

Tokyo--The South Korean navy has not been invited to take part in a fleet review planned by the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Forces for October, South Korea's National Defense Ministry said Tuesday.

The ministry initially announced that it would not be participating in the event, but later backtracked and said it has not made a decision, suggesting that the South Korean navy would join the fleet review if invited by the Japanese side.

The MSDF's decision not to invite its South Korean counterpart to the review at Sagami Bay in Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo, comes amid deteriorating Japan-South Korea ties over issues such as wartime labor.

The MSDF declined to take part in an international fleet review hosted by South Korea in October last year after Seoul asked Japanese ships not fly the "kyokujitsuki" rising sun flag. The flag, which is the naval ensign of the MSDF, is regarded in South Korea as a symbol of Japan's past militarism.

In December that year, a South Korean warship allegedly directed its fire-control radar at an MSDF patrol plane, further escalating tensions between the two countries. Jiji Press