This handout photo taken on Aug 25, 2019 and provided by the South Korean Navy shows the South Korean Navy's Aegis-equipped destroyer, Sejong the Great, participating in a military drill near the Dokdo islets, which are called Takeshima islands by Japan. (HANDOUT/ SOUTH KOREAN NAVY / AFP) 

SEOUL - South Korea on Tuesday protested against Japan's renewed territorial claims to the disputed islets lying halfway between the two countries, called Dokdo by South Korea and Takeshima by Japan.

The South Korean foreign ministry noted that Dokdo is clearly an integral part of the South Korean territory in terms of history, geography and international law, calling for Japan to immediately retract the renewed territorial claims

The South Korean foreign ministry said in a statement that the government strongly protests against the Japanese government's reiteration of "futile" territorial claims over Dokdo through Japan's 2021 defense white paper released earlier in the day.

The ministry noted that Dokdo is clearly an integral part of the South Korean territory in terms of history, geography and international law, calling for Japan to immediately retract such claims.

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It said the government particularly expresses strong regrets over the Japanese government's recent intensification of its unjust claims over Dokdo, noting that the unjust claims do not, and will not, have any impact on South Korea's sovereignty over Dokdo.

The ministry added that South Korea will respond strictly and firmly to any provocation over the islets.

The foreign ministry called in Hirohisa Soma, deputy chief of mission at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, to protest against the white paper. The defense ministry separately summoned a defense attache of Japan to lodge a protest, according to Yonhap news agency.

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Since 2005, Japan has laid territorial claims to the rocky outcroppings every year in its diplomatic blue and defense white papers