The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) and the Republic of Korea Navy have conducted their first joint search-and-rescue exercise since the radar dispute that strained relations between the two countries in 2018.
According to sea-news.az the exercise was held around islands near Nagasaki Prefecture, with the primary objective of practicing coordinated responses to shipboard fire emergencies.
The drill involved a Japanese Aegis-equipped destroyer and a patrol helicopter, as well as a South Korean amphibious landing ship.
Joint naval exercises between Japan and South Korea had been conducted since 1999. However, they were suspended after a 2018 incident in which Japan claimed that a South Korean destroyer directed fire-control radar at a Japanese patrol aircraft. Seoul, in turn, argued that the Japanese aircraft had flown at an excessively low altitude over its naval vessel.
In January this year, the two countries agreed to resume joint exercises during a meeting of their defense ministers. The exercise schedule was later announced at the Shangri-La Dialogue Security Summit held in Singapore last month.
