The South Korean Navy has indefinitely postponed a joint search and rescue exercise with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force that was scheduled for late November, Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun reported Monday, citing government sources from both sides.
The decision came after Japan revoked a plan to allow South Korean military jets to refuel at a base in Okinawa earlier this month after reportedly learning the aircraft had recently flown near contested islets in the Sea of Japan.
The drills, held 10 times between 1999 and 2017, were suspended after a military dispute over Japanese patrol aircraft in December 2018.