Russia to put missiles on disputed Kuril islands
Japan’s hopes for getting back the southern Kuril Islands, one of the last pieces of unfinished business from World War II, have been dashed after it was revealed that Russia is to move powerful missiles on to the archipelago in the latest expansion of its military presence in the region.
Shinzo Abe, the Japanese prime minister, travelled to the far eastern Russian city of Vladivostok for his latest meeting with President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday in pursuit of a treaty that would include the return the southern islands, seized from Japan after the end of World War II.
But hopes of progress have been undermined by Russian plans to deploy land-to-ship missiles on Paramushir island in the northern Kurils and radar systems on Matua island. Paramushir is not claimed by Japan, but the Bastion missile systems, whose deployment was leaked to a Japanese news agency this week, will have a range of more than 320km, putting them within reach of shipping in the Sea of Okhotsk, the strategic waters north of the Japanese island of Hokkaido.
If that was not a snub enough, Putin’s prime minister, Dmitry Medvedev, last week made a pointed visit to Iturup, one of the islands claimed by Japan, which it calls Etorofu.
Responding to Japanese protests about his trip, Medvedev said, ‘‘The more indignation, the more reasons to come here for Russian government representatives, and that’s what we will do, of course.’’
He added, ‘‘It is our land, it is an entity of the Russian Federation. These islands are part of the Sakhalin region. Why should we be concerned about [Japanese displeasure]?’’
The Kurils were invaded by the Red Army late in August 1945 two weeks after Japan’s surrender following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki – an act regarded by successive Japanese governments, and by many Japanese, as treacherous and illegal.
After the expulsion of the Japanese population and their replacement by Russian settlers, the islands struggled economically, although they played an important strategic role during the Cold War, and have rich offshore fishing grounds. As long ago as 1956, the Russian government agreed to hand back a few of the islands – the small Shikotan island and the Habomai islets – in return for a peace treaty. The offer was not taken up by Tokyo, in the hope that the promise of Japanese investment in the Russian Far East could induce Moscow to concede more.
With the growth of the Russian economy, however, Japan finds itself in a weakening position.
At a meeting with Abe last year, Putin agreed to embark on local joint economic projects on the islands, from sea urchin farming to strawberry cultivation, to build trust between Russians and Japanese.
Japanese media reported this year that Abe was prepared to consider accepting the 1956 terms – in other words, realistically abandoning hope of getting back the larger islands of Kunashir and Iturup.
As he has moved towards Putin, however, the Russian leader appears to have edged away.
The sticking point is the demand that, before any deal is made, Japan accept Russian sovereignty over the islands.
‘‘It is our land, it is an entity of the Russian Federation. These islands are part of the Sakhalin region. Why should we be concerned about [Japanese displeasure]?’’ Dmitry Medvedev, Russian prime minister