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The Japanese aircraft captured at a distance of 540m from the ROKS Dae Jo-yeong at a bearing of 140 degrees.

On Jan. 24, South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) released photographs of a radar monitor that depicts the altitude of a Japanese patrol plane during a threatening flyby on Jan. 23 and its distance from the South Korean destroyer ROKS Dae Jo-yeong. Seoul released this evidence immediately after the Japanese Defense Ministry denied that its patrol plane had conducted a threatening flyby.

This appears to be both a rebuttal of Japanese claims and a signal that South Korea won’t ease pressure. Japan responded to the release of the photographs with a rebuttal of its own, but did not provide any specific evidence.

The South Korean Defense Ministry released a total of two photographs of the radio monitor. Figures visible in the photos indicate that the Japanese plane approached within 540m of the Dae Jo-yeong while flying at an altitude of 60-70m.

“The radar information was taken from a screen on the Dae Jo-yeong’s multi-function console. This evidence demonstrates that the Japanese patrol plane made a threatening flyby at an extremely low altitude,” said an official from South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The flight pattern of the Japanese maritime patrol aircraft on Jan. 23

“Machines don’t lie,” the official said emphatically.

An image of the radar that was taken when the Japanese patrol plane approached the Dae Jo-yeong’s stern around 2:03 pm depicts the patrol plane’s altitude as being “200 feet” (60-70m). And then when the patrol plane flew close to the ship’s starboard side, the radar screen displayed a distance of “0.33 miles,” or 540m.

Radar data showing the Japanese patrol aircraft approached the ROKS Dae Jo-yeong from a distance of around 0.30 miles (540m).

Sections of the radar screen are blurred out. “The photos were partially redacted to prevent information about the ship’s radar system from becoming public knowledge,” said an official from South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The South Korean Defense Ministry also released two photos taken with the Dae Jo-yeong’s infrared camera and a photo taken by a camcorder. The camcorder photo shows the Japanese patrol plane flying to the right of the Dae Jo-yeong’s communication antenna. The patrol plane is about 1km away from the antenna. The photo taken with the infrared camera at 2:03 pm shows the patrol plane when it came within 540m of the ship. A photo taken at 2:01 pm shows the plane approaching from a distance of 7.5km.

The MND has hesitated to release the videos taken with the infrared camera and the camcorder and said it hasn’t decided whether it will do so. Since it has already released photographic evidence, the MND apparently intends to wait for Japan’s response before deciding on the scope and method of disclosure. Its likely strategy is to gradually crank up intensity in line with Japan’s attitude.

Following a meeting of the standing committee of South Korea’s National Security Council, chaired by Blue House National Security Director Chung Eui-yong, on Thursday, the Blue House said, “The members of the standing committee expressed their serious concerns about Japanese patrol planes’ repeated threatening low-altitude approaches to South Korean naval vessels and decided to take stern action to ensure such actions are not repeated.”

Radar data showing the Japanese patrol aircraft flew at an altitude of 200 feet (60-70m) as it approached the ROKS Dae Jo-yeong.

Compared to the intense pressure from South Korea, Japan’s response has been lowkey. “We’ve been briefed by the Ministry of Defense that the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s patrol plane made an appropriate flight. I understand that the military authorities will remain in communication,” Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said during the regular press briefing on Thursday. This strikes a different tone from the Japanese Defense Ministry’s declaration in its “final opinion” on Jan. 21 that it would suspend deliberations with South Korea. Some take this to mean that Japan intends to manage the situation while refraining from making recriminations.

After South Korea released the photographs, Japanese Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya did issue a rebuttal on the evening of Jan. 24, but the wording was rather vague. Iwaya claimed that Japanese patrol planes “are always carrying out appropriate surveillance activities based on domestic laws and international regulations” and expressed his hope that South Korea would “accept Japan’s opinion and make a sincere response.”

If the dispute between South Korea and Japan drags on, it’s sure to create obstacles to bilateral military cooperation. While the South Korean navy and Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force are supposed to hold joint search and rescue exercises in the second half of 2019, those exercises would be difficult to pull off under the current atmosphere. South Korea and Japan have held these exercises every two years since 1999 to bolster their ability to respond to ship distress calls.

The South Korean Ministry of National Defense released photograph evidence of a threatening low-altitude flyby by a Japanese patrol aircraft near the South Korean ROKS Dae Jo-yeong destroyer on Jan. 24. (provided by the MND)

By Yoo Kang-moon, senior staff writer

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