Lawmaker calls for stronger policy on Dokdo

Rep. Kang, says ‘silent diplomacy’ is no more than a passive response


Korea should strengthen its policies on Dokdo given the Japanese government’s active involvement in recent years, said the chairman of the parliamentary subcommittee on Dokdo issues.

Rep. Kang Chang-il, together with Reps. Moon Hak-jin and Chang Se-hwan of the subcommittee, visited early last week Kunashiri Island, the largest among the Kuril Islands, the subject of a major territorial dispute between Russia and Japan.

This was the first official visit by Korean politicians to the area. It caused a stir in the Japanese parliament, and Prime Minister Naoto Kan promised “proper counteraction.”

The Japanese Ambassador in Seoul Masatoshi Muto also lodged a protest with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade here.

“The Japanese assembly is not entitled to interfere with the legitimate parliamentary research activities of Korean lawmakers,” Kang said, in response to the Japanese arguments.

As the Kuril Islands, referred to as the Chishima Islands by Japan, are in Russia’s possession, Kang had to obtain a Russian visa to visit the area.

“It is the Japanese claim that Korea actually acknowledged the Russian jurisdiction over the islands by applying for a Russia visa,” he said. “The visa, however, was just an administrative process to gain peaceful access to the islands and the Japanese protest against it only revealed their restlessness and lack of legitimate confidence over the issue.”

Despite the backlash from the neighboring country, the purpose of the visit was to investigate the background of the Russia-Japan territorial disputes, not to side with Russia against Japan, Kang said.

“As Japan once again provoked Seoul in March by strengthening its claim over Dokdo in the revised history textbooks, we felt a need to speak up further on the issue,” the committee chairman said.

“Our plans involved peaceful means such as holding a subcommittee meeting on Dokdo or requesting the president to pay a visit to the islets.”

An academic inspection on areas undergoing similar territorial disputes was also an option, the lawmaker explained.

He and his aides also visited Vladivostok and Sakhalin regions to see ancient Korean historic sites and meet ethnic Koreans residing there since the Japanese colonial rule over the Korean Peninsula.

“During our visit to the islands, however, we largely discovered the differences between the historic facts concerning the Kuril islands and Dokdo,” he said.

Dokdo, which was originally Korean territory, was claimed by colonial Japan through the unilateral edict in 1905 and was returned upon liberation.

The Kuril islands, on the other hand, were transferred from Japan to Russia after World War II through a number of treaties.

Though the archipelago is located closer to Hokkaido, Japan, than to the Russian mainland, the area is currently occupied by Russian nationals, Kang said.

“The complicated circumstances surrounding the Kuril islands further backed up our rightful sovereignty over Dokdo, which has been part of Korean territory, both geographically and historically,” he said.

The visit was nevertheless worth it as they observed the Russian government’s countermeasures to the given disputes, he added.

“Though we refrained from meeting any government officials there, as to avoid unnecessary misunderstanding, we felt the determined will of the Russian administration to safeguard the islands,” Kang said.

While military facilities, roads and airports are under construction, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev also paid a visit to the islands last year, thus asserting the country’s territorial claim.

“Our government should, too, make it clear to the international society that the Japanese arguments are groundless,” the second-term lawmaker said.

“Silent diplomacy is no more than a passive response to the issue.”

Amid the controversies concerning his visits, Rep. Lee Sang-deuk recently explained that Kang’s trip to the Kuril Archipelago was a personal and academic one, not an official agenda of the Dokdo subcommittee.

“We were officially representing the parliamentary Dokdo committee, and no excuses were necessary,” said Kang.

“The Korean government should no longer mind the Japanese attitude and speak out loudly on its claims.”

Though the parliamentary Dokdo subcommittee is to end its term this month, lawmakers plan to carry on with their legislative plans, the chairman said.

“The government is presently reinforcing its effective occupation on Dokdo by building marine research centers and other facilities in the area,” Kang said.

“We, the lawmakers, will back such plans by submitting a series of bills to step up the country’s legal sovereignty on the island.”

Apart from the Dokdo disputes, the Jeju lawmaker is also deeply involved in new environment-friendly energy businesses, a large part of which is based on Jeju.

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)