Russian defense minister points out that US is increasing military power in Asia-Pacific
[모스크=AP/뉴시스] Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu arrives at the Kremlin Palace to attend a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping on February 21 (local time). 2023.03.23.
[서울=뉴시스] Reporter Kim Ye-jin = Russia announced on the 22nd (local time) that it had deployed missiles to the Kuril Islands. The decision was made after Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida made a ‘surprising’ visit to Ukraine during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Russia.
According to Sky News and Reuters, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced on the same day that the Bastion Coastal Defense Missile System had been deployed on the island of Paramusir.
Paramusir Island is part of the Kuril Islands, a territorial dispute with Japan. Japan calls it the ‘Northern Territory’. Shoigu stressed that the missile deployment would strengthen Russian security around the Kuril Islands.
“The United States is significantly increasing its military capabilities in the Asia-Pacific region to contain Russia and China, strengthening political and military cooperation with allies, and continuing to build new US security structures in the region,” he said.
The four Kuril Islands, which Japan calls the ‘Northern Territories’, are the southernmost four islands of the Kuril Islands, which stretch between Sakhalin, Russia and Hokkaido, Japan.
Japan had occupied it since 1854, but after its defeat in World War II, it was transferred to the former Soviet Union through a peace treaty, and is currently effectively controlled by Russia. However, Japan claims sovereignty over the four Kuril Islands and is demanding their return.
However, Russia is sticking to the position of non-return, saying that the four Kuriles belonged to Russia legally according to international law after the end of the war. As a result, a peace treaty has not yet been signed between the two countries.
In November 2018, then-Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to accelerate negotiations for a peace treaty based on the 1956 Soviet-Japanese Joint Declaration. Former Prime Minister Abe also tried to return the Kuril Islands.
However, negotiations between the two countries have been sluggish and have not made much progress, and negotiations on a peace treaty between the two countries have virtually stopped after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
◎Sympathy Media Newsis [email protected]