SINGAPORE — In a significant step to bolster security ties, the defense ministers of South Korea and Japan reached an agreement on Saturday to implement measures designed to prevent incidents similar to the contentious 2018 maritime encounter involving a Japanese patrol aircraft and a South Korean warship. The agreement was announced during discussions held on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.
According to Yonhap News Agency, South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik and his Japanese counterpart, Minoru Kihara, agreed to adhere to the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea, which governs the movements of warships and aircraft to avoid conflicts. This follows a series of discussions that started last year at the same forum, marking a thaw in military communications since their last ministerial meeting in November 2019. The ministers outlined plans to maintain safe distances and altitudes and improve communication protocols to manage encounters at sea effectively.