Japan, South Korea in Row Over Alleged Radar-Lock Incident

[ThirdTerm]

Japan has accused a South Korean navy destroyer of targeting a fire control radar system toward a Japanese military surveillance aircraft.

Japan Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya conveyed Tokyo’s strong protest on Friday after the incident. Iwaya, during a press conference, described the South Korean action as “extremely dangerous” and warned that it could “cause an unexpected situation.

“It’s extremely regrettable that the incident of this time happened,” Iwaya added. “We will urge South Korea to prevent a recurrence.”

The Japanese aircraft involved in the incident, according to Iwaya, was a Maritime Self-Defense Force Kawasaki P-1 maritime patrol aircraft.

The aircraft was conducting an unspecified surveillance mission in the Sea of Japan/East Sea during the incident, according to Japan. The incident took place while the P-1 was in airspace off the Noto Peninsula, on the northern side of Japan’s Honshu island.

A radar lock, while not in itself damaging to targeted assets, is considered a sign of a heightened threat as it may precipitate the launch of a missile.

The Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force has been involved in surveillance activities recently to identify North Korean attempts to violate United Nations Security Council sanctions resolutions by conducting illicit ship-to-ship transfers of prohibited cargo, including coal and oil.

https://thediplomat.com/2018/12/japan-south-korea-in-row-over-alleged-radar-lock-incident/

It was the Japanese patrol aircraft which approached the three Korean vessels from above in order to take a close look at them. 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. Small North Korean fishing boats are not capable of venturing into the high seas and North Korean fishermen are risking their lives by fishing in the Sea of Japan to get around international economic sanctions imposed on the rogue state. South Korea announced that it would stop calling North Korea an enemy to create a friendly atmosphere between the two Korean nations.

The Japanese Ministry of Defense (MoD) has released an 18 second audio file containing what Tokyo claims is the sound recorded when a RoKN destroyer locked its fire-control radar onto a Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) Kawasaki P-1 maritime patrol aircraft (MPA).

Fire-control Radar Detection Sound: www.mod.go.jp/j/approach/defense/radar/img/fc.wav