South Korea protests Japan’s claim to disputed islets

South Korea lodged a strong diplomatic protest Tuesday after Japan renewed its territorial claim to the disputed islets in its latest annual defense white paper, local media reported.

The islets are known as Dokdo in South Korea and Takeshima in Japan.

Seoul's Foreign Ministry summoned Kazuo Tsuchiya, deputy chief of mission at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, to deliver its formal complaint, Yonhap News Agency reported.

"The government strongly protests Japan's repeated, unjust territorial claim to Dokdo and calls for its immediate withdrawal," ministry spokesperson Park Doo-soon said, adding that the islets are "indisputably" South Korean territory under "history, geography and international law."

South Korea's Defense Ministry also summoned Japan's military attache to protest the claim.

The Japanese government released its annual defense white paper following a Cabinet meeting earlier in the day, renewing its territorial claim to the islets.

The dispute has long been a sensitive issue between the two countries, as Japan continues to assert sovereignty over the islets in policy papers, public statements and school textbooks.

South Korea maintains a small police detachment on the islets, effectively exercising control over them.