Parliamentary panel adopts resolution over air intrusion, territorial claim over Dokdo

SEOUL, Aug. 1 (Yonhap) -- A parliamentary panel on Thursday adopted a resolution condemning an air incursion by Russian and Chinese warplanes and Japan's territorial claim to the South's Dokdo islets.

The foreign affairs committee adopted the resolution by consensus to enable it to be put to vote at a plenary meeting set for later in the day.

The rare bipartisan move came amid fresh tensions involving Russia and China over an air intrusion and Tokyo's repeated territorial claim over South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo.

The five-point resolution said a Russian warplane's incursion into South Korea's airspace twice on July 23 constituted the violation of the South's sovereignty and posed a threat to security in Northeast Asia.

"We strongly call on Russia to immediately apologize for the incident after checking the facts based on data provided by the Korean government and make a promise not to repeat such an act," it showed.

Lawmakers also condemned Chinese and Russian military jets' violation of South Korea's air defense identification zone (KADIZ) without prior notice on the same day.

"The National Assembly strongly denounced their intrusion into the KADIZ. We sternly call on both nations to respect the KADIZ and not to violate it without permission," it said.

Japan, which claims the Dokdo islets, also said the Russian aircraft had violated its territory and dispatched a warplane. Tokyo filed a protest with South Korea against the South's Air Force's firing of warning shots at the Russian jet.

"We reaffirm that Dokdo is definitely South Korean territory in terms of history, geography and international laws. We urge Japan to immediately stop its unreasonable territorial claim to Dokdo," the resolution said.

Last week, the parliamentary committee adopted a resolution calling on Japan to immediately withdraw its export curbs against South Korea. The resolution will be put to vote for approval at the planned plenary session.

In the four-point resolution, lawmakers voiced "deep" regret that Japan's move hampers the basis of Seoul-Tokyo ties and hurts the global free trade order. They also called for diplomatic solutions to the trade spat.

Japan began restricting exports to South Korea of high-tech materials vital to making chips and displays on July 4 over South Korean court rulings ordering Japanese firms to compensate Korean victims of Japan's wartime forced labor.

It may approve the removal of South Korea from a "whitelist" of trusted buyers receiving preferential treatment at a Cabinet meeting set for Friday.

sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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