ⓒYONHAP News

The South Korean military on Tuesday carried out a biannual military exercise around its easternmost islets of Dokdo.

According to a government source, the combined forces of South Korean Navy, Air Force and the Coast Guard staged the East Sea Territory Protection Exercise on Tuesday. The drill did not include the involvement of its Marine Corps.

While a training exercise in the second half of last year was scaled down due to weather and the COVID-19 pandemic, this year's exercise was conducted on a scale similar to previous years, the source said. No landing drill, however, took place on Tuesday.

Japan, which has repeatedly laid claim to Dokdo, reportedly protested the latest drill with the Japanese Defense Ministry lodging a complaint after summoning in a military attaché from the South Korean Embassy in Tokyo.

The South Korean Defense Ministry expressed its "strong regret" over the Japanese government’s protest, calling it a “sovereign drill” aimed at safeguarding South Korea’s own territory, public and assets.