Dokdo-Takeshima

·         On July 14, 2008 South Korea announced plans to recall its envoy to Japan in the latest flare-up of tensions over disputed islands- known as Dokdo in Korea and Takeshima in Japan.

·         Japan has reasserted its claim to the islands, which are under South Korean control in waters between the Asian neighbours.

Mission IAS’2009

·         The fresh claim to Japanese ownership of the islands - known as Dokdo in Korea and Takeshima in Japan - was reportedly made in a book for teachers.

·         The islands sit in rich fishing grounds which may also contain gas reserves.

·         South Korean President Lee Myung-bak expressed "deep disappointment and regret" about Tokyo's fresh claim of sovereignty over the islands, which South Korea says is made in a teacher's guide to middle-school textbooks.

·         The islands were subsumed under Japanese colonial rule along with the rest of Korea in the early 20th Century.

·         But there is a dispute as to whether they were covered by Japan's renunciation of sovereignty over its occupied territories following its defeat in World War II.

·         Both countries say they have the stronger historical claim to the islands.

·         South Korea stations a small unit of maritime police on the rugged and treeless islands, which cover a total area of 18.7 hectares (46 acres).