S. Korea's Ministry of National Defense releases video responding to Japan's claims over radar use
  • 5 years ago
국방부, 일본 레이더 반박 영상 공개, 저공위협비행에 사과해야

First to the dispute over Japan's claims that a South Korean warship used its targeting radar to lock on to a Japanese patrol plane.
The South Korean defense ministry has released a video taking on the claims point by point, and making the case that the Japanese plane's low-altitude flight over the ship was dangerous and threatening to the Korean ship.
For the latest, we connect our defense ministry correspondent Park Ji-won for details.
Jiwon.
Devin.
South Korea's Ministry of National Defense released the video on its official YouTube account at two o'clock this afternoon.
In the four-minute video, the Republic of Korea Navy asks Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Forces... why, in international waters, where another country's warship is engaged in the humanitarian rescue of a ship in distress, that Japan would send a patrol aircraft on threatening low-altitude flight in the first place.
The video says the Japanese plane approached the South Korean destroyer from a distance of just 500 meters and an altitude of just 150 meters.
The ship's crew said they heard a loud noise and felt strong vibrations due to the flight, which they said was menacing and threatening.
A video released by Japan last week showed the Japanese plane recognized that the South Korean ship was on a rescue mission, but the South Korean video said the plane nonetheless continued its unprofessional, aggressive flight at a very close distance.
A military aircraft, it said, should not conduct such a low-altitude flight near a foreign warship because it could cause accidental clashes.
Also, Japan had claimed the plane followed internationally-agreed rules when it came to the flight's altitude.
For that claim, Japan quoted Annex regulations of the Convention on International Civil Aviation.
However, the South Korean defense ministry pointed out that Article Three of the Convention clearly states that the agreement applies "ONLY TO" civil aircraft, and NOT to military, customs and police services.
So the video points out that Japan is interpreting an international agreement in an arbitrary way to justify its false claim.
South Korea also, once again, stressed that its warship did not lock on to the plan using its fire-control radar.
Rather it used only search radars for humanitarian purposes.
The defense ministry's video pointed out based on Japan's own video, the Japanese pilots knew the ships guns were not pointed at them, and knew the South Korean ship had no intention of attacking.
Lastly, the video says communications from the Japanese plane were extremely unclear because of loud noises.
The video included actual sound recordings from the ship showing the messages were almost impossible to understand.
The defense ministry stressed once again that the South Korean Navy had no intention of threatening the Japanese plane,... saying that if Japan has any evidence of radar frequency, then it should provide it at working-level meetings.
South Korean
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