Japan and South Korea resume arms exchange and want to prevent a repeat of the 2018 radar incident

SINGAPORE – Defense Minister Minoru Kihara and his South Korean counterpart Shin Won-sik agreed to resume bilateral defense exchanges at a meeting in Singapore on Saturday, releasing a joint press statement and a document outlining measures to prevent a repeat of a 2018 radar detection incident, the biggest point of contention between the two countries’ defense authorities.

Since the administration of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol announced a package of measures to settle legal disputes related to laborers requisitioned from the Korean Peninsula during the war in March 2023, bilateral relations between Japan and South Korea have improved in various fields such as politics and economics. With the latest agreement, the two governments expect that bilateral security cooperation will also improve.

According to the joint press release, Kihara and Shin agreed that defense cooperation between Japan and South Korea is important not only to contain threats from North Korea, but also to realize a free and open Indo-Pacific. In addition, the two ministers agreed to hold annual vice defense minister-level talks, resume working-level defense dialogues, and resume high-level exchanges between the Self-Defense Forces and the South Korean military.

In December 2018, a South Korean destroyer used its fire control radar to detect a P-1 patrol aircraft of the Maritime Self-Defense Force off the coast of the Noto Peninsula. Tokyo protested the incident to Seoul. South Korea denies the radar detection incident, and the exchange of defense intelligence between the two countries’ authorities has been suspended since then.

The joint press statement described the locking incident as a problem that may lead to the hampering of security cooperation between Japan and South Korea, and between Japan, South Korea and the United States. The statement did not mention whether the radar was actually aimed at the MSDF aircraft, effectively putting the matter on hold.

The action document states that Japan and South Korea should comply with the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea (CUES), an international standard adopted by major countries including the two nations in 2014. It also says that under normal circumstances, the MSDF and the South Korean Navy will strengthen communication and build mutual trust. Since the CUES does not allow detection by fire control radars, Japan believes this will ensure the prevention of similar incidents.

After the meeting, Kihara said, “The security of the MSDF will be protected through these measures. Through today’s results, we will revitalize Japan-South Korea defense cooperation and exchanges.”