Japanese FM Motegi calls Russia’s Kuril buildup unacceptable

Japan cannot tolerate moves to strengthen military power on the Kuril Islands, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi has said, criticising Russian naval exercises near the disputed islands visited by President Vladimir Putin last week amid continuing tensions between Tokyo and Moscow.

Speaking during a visit to Oman on August 20, he condemned the latest military activity, Caliber.Az reports, citing The Guardian.

“We cannot tolerate moves to strengthen military power on the Four Northern Islands because they go against our country’s stance [on the territories],” Motegi noted.

Russia’s Pacific Fleet announced that it had launched Bastion surface-to-ship missiles from Etorofu, the largest of the four disputed islands, in a simulated attack on enemy vessels. The missiles struck targets located about 300 kilometres away, according to the Russian military.

The exercises also reportedly involved a nuclear-powered submarine and a guided-missile cruiser.

Putin’s visit to Etorofu last week, his first to the island, triggered a diplomatic dispute, with Japan and Russia summoning each other’s ambassadors. Tokyo refers to the four islands as the Northern Territories or Four Northern Islands, while Moscow considers them part of the Kuril Islands.

The territorial dispute over the islands dates back to the 19th century. The Soviet Union seized them from Japan at the end of World War II, and the disagreement has prevented the two countries from signing a formal postwar peace treaty.

Russian naval exercises in the region began on August 4, with Japan informed beforehand that the drills would include live-fire exercises. Tokyo protested on August 5 over the scale of the military manoeuvres.

Russia’s state-run Tass news agency reported that the exercises involved “approximately 60 surface ships, submarines, and support vessels, about 30 aircraft, helicopters, and unmanned aerial systems of the Pacific fleet’s naval aviation, as well as over 13,000 service members”.

Putin observed part of the drills from the Russian guided-missile cruiser Varyag on August 12 during his visit to the disputed islands and Sakhalin, a Russian territory north of Hokkaido.

“The region is unfortunately becoming increasingly prone to conflict, with Nato seeking to gain a foothold here and the emergence of new military and political blocs,” Putin said aboard the flagship. “There are efforts and plans to deploy new weapons systems here, which creates threats for our country.”

The Russian exercises are scheduled to continue until August 29.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov