[ThirdTerm]

SEOUL - South Korea and Japan have failed to narrow their differences in a stand-off over whether a Korean warship had locked its targeting radar on a Japanese patrol plane last month, Korean news agency Yonhap reported on Tuesday (Jan 15), citing the country's defence ministry.

General-ranked representatives from the two sides met in Singapore on Monday (Jan 14) but could not resolve the dispute, according to the defence ministry. It was the first face-to-face contact between officials from the two nations over the Dec 20 incident, Yonhap said.

Tokyo accuses a South Korean warship of locking fire-control radar on its maritime patrol aircraft, and has released a video clip to back up its claim.

Seoul says the ship was on a mission to rescue a North Korean ship that was drifting in the international waters of the East Sea, and has released its own clip, which it says shows Japan conducting a "threateningly" low-altitude flight towards the warship.

"The two sides were apart (throughout the Singapore meeting)," a ministry official told Yonhap, suggesting that no agreement was reached.

The South Korean warship used its fire-control radar on a Japanese Coast Guard aircraft, when it spied on South Korea's "humanitarian mission" to rescue a stranded North Korean fishing boat, which was operating illegally in Japan's exclusive economic zone. The incident proves that South Korea is firmly on North Korea's side and it's no longer Japan's ally.

[One Degree]

Why would they call it ‘spying’ if they were on a humanitarian mission? Obviously, those on the North Korean vessel are going to get a good look at the South Korean ship. What’s to hide from Japan?

[Victoribus Spolia]

Not that it necessarily informs policy, but I hosted South Korean and Chinese Highschoolers in my home for a year in the exchange program for a local Christian school (when I still had the boarding house in the Steel City).

One thing that i learned from that experience was that asians are really racist towards one another and South Koreans especially despise the Japanese. They have not gotten over the Japanese occupation of Korea from WWII and part of their zeal for Christianity stems from a nationalist desire to distinguish themselves from the Japs.

It was pretty crazy.

So if that were any indicator, whatever alliance the Japs have with the Koreans is thanks to a common factor: The United States.

[Rancid]

Not that it necessarily informs policy, but I hosted South Korean and Chinese Highschoolers in my home for a year in the exchange program for a local Christian school (when I still had the boarding house in the Steel City).

One thing that i learned from that experience was that asians are really racist towards one another and South Koreans especially despise the Japanese. They have not gotten over the Japanese occupation of Korea from WWII and part of their zeal for Christianity stems from a nationalist desire to distinguish themselves from the Japs.

It was pretty crazy.

So if that were any indicator, whatever alliance the Japs have with the Koreans is thanks to a common factor: The United States.

From my experience traveling and working with South Koreans. I agree with this statement. Nonetheless, I think they are allies. They have to be at this point.

I would make two amendments to your statement though.

- Japan occupied Korea well before WWII. In fact, Japan almost destroyed the Korean language itself. The history of despise goes further back than WWII is my point.
- Yes the US is a common factor, but I would argue so is China. It's better for them to stick together in the face of China who's starting to eat their lunch.

[ThirdTerm]

Why would they call it ‘spying’ if they were on a humanitarian mission? Obviously, those on the North Korean vessel are going to get a good look at the South Korean ship. What’s to hide from Japan?

It was the Japanese patrol aircraft which approached the three Korean vessels from above in order to take a close look at them and take photos. Two of them were from South Korea (a destroyer and patrol ship) and another vessel on the scene was a North Korean fishing boat, which needed to be rescued. Dozens of derelict boats from North Korea washed up on Japanese shores last year and North Korean fishermen are risking their lives by fishing in the Sea of Japan to get around international economic sanctions. Small North Korean fishing boats are not capable of venturing into the high seas. South Korea calls it a "humanitarian mission" but it may be against international law to assist the rogue state's illegal activities in any way, which may be why the South Korean destroyer hit a panic button when it was spotted by the Japanese patrol aircraft. Or those serving in the military are especially hawkish and anti-Japanese by nature.