Japan asks Russia to reduce military activity on disputed Kuril Islands
Moscow has deployed its newest missile defence systems to the islands and plans to build a naval base there even as it continues talks about the territorial dispute
Tokyo has asked Russia to reduce its military activity on a disputed island chain in the Pacific after Moscow beefed up its forces there in response to what it sees as a potential threat, Japanese Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera said on Tuesday.
The territorial dispute over the islands, known as the Kuril Islands in Russia and the Northern Territories in Japan, is so acrimonious that Moscow and Tokyo have not yet signed a peace treaty to mark the end of the second world war.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev approved the deployment of Russian warplanes on one of the disputed islands in February, accelerating the area’s militarisation at a time when Moscow’s ties with Tokyo are strained over the roll-out of the Aegis US missile system.
Moscow has also deployed its newest missile defence systems to the islands and plans to build a naval base there even as it continues talks about the territorial dispute.