Tokyo, Moscow at odds over missile defence
TOKYO: The foreign ministers of Japan and Russia expressed conflicting stances yesterday about the effect on Russia of Japan’s planned installation of a US-made landbased missile defence system.
At a joint press conference after his first meeting with a foreign counterpart since Russian President Vladimir Putin won a fourth term, Sergey Lavrov expressed concern that the Aegis Ashore system “will have a direct effect on Russia’s security”, effectively becoming part of the US missile defence network.
Japan’s Taro Kono, meanwhile, asked for Russia’s understanding, saying the system “will not pose a threat to any neighbouring country, including Russia”.
Japan says the system will increase its ability to intercept ballistic missiles from North Korea.
The ministers also discussed preparations for a planned summit in May between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Mr Putin in Russia. For Mr Abe, the summit offers a chance to make progress on a long-standing territorial row over the sovereignty of a Russian-held chain of islands.
The two leaders agreed in December 2016 to begin discussing joint economic projects on the islands, but progress has been slow since then.
Japan and Russia still need to work out the details of a special system that they have agreed is necessary in order for the projects not to compromise either side’s legal position on the islands’ sovereignty.
Mr Kono and Mr Lavrov agreed to speed up negotiations on the projects ahead of the May summit, and Mr Lavrov said the talks so far have been “moving along in a good atmosphere”.
Called the Northern Territories in Japan and the Southern Kurils in Russia, the islands were seized by the Soviet Union at the end of World War II. The disagreement over their sovereignty has prevented Tokyo and Moscow from signing a postwar peace treaty.