Tora! Tora! Tora! Brave Korean air force turns back Japanese recon plane one day after 'Takeshima Day' declared

As expected, the Shimane Prefecture (Note: not the Japanese National legislature) passed a bill proclaiming Takeshima Day, which caused a predictable response in Korea.  Somebody should point out to Koreans that it is the bereaved party which does all the shouting, making faces and finger chopping.  Since Korea has Dokdo, all they have to do is yawn and smile whenever the Japanese mention Takeshima.

As one would expect, the Marmot has the Dokdo post, so be sure to read it to get all the latest information.

Korea turns back Japanese air force

In the latest twist, the Korean government claim to have turned back a Japanese air force plane:

A Japanese reconnaissance plane approached South Korea's de-facto airspace over the East Sea Wednesday but turned back after warnings from the South's air force, officials said Thursday.

The RF-4C plane from Japan's Self Defense Force came as close as 10 miles to the South's Korea Air Defense Identification Zone, a military buffer zone surrounding the country's airspace, around 12:20 p.m., officials at the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

The area was near Dokdo, a group of rocky islets that Japan claims sovereignty over.

The Japanese plane turned back at 12:25 p.m. after receiving radio warnings from the South's air force three times, officials said.

At that time, two South Korean F-4 fighter jets were patrolling a nearby region and were ordered to move to the Dokdo area, but there was no confrontation, officials said.

I really like the 'de-facto airspace' bit.  If I am correct in my interpretation of what the article says, the Japanese plane was not in Korean airspace or even near Korea airspace.  It was near the airspace that is near Korean airspace (the military buffer zone.').  Even if the Japanese plan were to enter the buffer zone, it still would have been in international airspace. 

I plan to be severely beaten when I try to explain this to my Korean wife tonight.

Comments

[Admiral Choco Pie]

Sitting here in Seoul, I just feel sorry for Koreans--the frothing-at-the-mouth hyper-nationism makes them look foolish, and the Japanese reasonable. Why are Koreans so often their own worst enemies?