"Provocative step": how Moscow reacted to the Japanese-American exercises and the Tokyo exhibition about the South Kuriles

The Russian Foreign Ministry expressed their protest over an exhibition in Japan about the South Kuriles in the context of Tokyo's illegal territorial claims to them.

The ministry recalled that the Foreign Ministry had already issued a warning about a similar event in 2020.

“The Japanese organizers again took this provocative step, once again not finding a place for placement among the exhibits for such documents as the 1945 Act of Surrender, according to which Japan pledged to“ honestly fulfill the terms of the Potsdam Declaration ”, the 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty from Tokyo's refusal of all claims to the Kuril Islands, "- said in the commentary of the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova.

She also expressed Moscow's concern over the Japanese-American naval exercises in the Hokkaido area, which began on December 6.

"Their conduct in the immediate vicinity of the border of the Russian Federation, the scale and range of operations being practiced force us to consider these maneuvers as a serious challenge and potential threat to the security of our country in the Far East," the commentary says.

In addition, Zakharova stressed that Russia will continue to closely monitor such actions, which, according to her, see Tokyo's stubborn reluctance to take practical steps to take into account Russian security concerns, “including the refusal to provide Japanese territory for the implementation of a destabilizing military activity ".

Joint maneuvers

Recall that the Japanese-American exercise called Resolute Dragon 21 started in early December.

"US Marine Corps marines from across Japan and the Japanese Self-Defense Forces are participating in Resolute Dragon 21, the largest bilateral exercise this year," the Pentagon said in a statement.

As specified in the American department, these trainings, conducted, in particular, at the Japanese Ojodjihara training ground, are aimed at "strengthening the defenses of the American-Japanese alliance."

According to media reports, the maneuvers took place for about two weeks in the territory "from Okinawa in the southernmost part of Japan to Hokkaido in the north."

They reportedly involved about 2.6 thousand US Marines and 1.4 thousand Japanese troops who took part in "a wide range of military scenarios on land, water and air."

It is also noted that, as part of these maneuvers, fighter aircraft and tanks conducted live firing, and an American multiple launch rocket system was also deployed.

As for Hokkaido, located near the Russian borders, then, according to media reports, since December 6, the Japanese military have used firearms and tanks that fired at targets that mimic enemy missiles or armored vehicles.

It is noted that in total about 1.3 thousand servicemen took part in these trainings.

• US military in Japan

• AP

• © Eugene Hoshiko

Recall that at the end of last year, the United States and Japan also conducted the largest bilateral joint command-and-staff exercises Yama Sakura 79. According to the organizers of the training, such maneuvers allow the military of both countries to practice their actions according to a realistic scenario that allows assessing the capabilities and interoperability “necessary for fulfillment of obligations under the mutual security agreement ”.

In addition, it was emphasized that the Yama Sakura 79 demonstrates the strength of the US-Japan alliance.

Territorial issue

It should be noted that against the background of such activity in the military sphere, together with the American military, Tokyo regularly expresses its territorial claims to Moscow in one form or another.

So, in November, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi announced plans to resolve with the Russian Federation the issue of the ownership of four islands - Kunashir, Iturup, Shikotan and Habomai, as well as conclude a peace treaty.

Earlier, in October, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said that Tokyo's sovereignty allegedly extended to the islands of the southern Kuril Islands.

Maria Zakharova, commenting on his words, stated that if "such kind of ultimatum statements" the Japanese side tries to condition the further course of negotiations on the issue of a peace treaty, then Tokyo further postpones the prospect of its solution.

“We invariably proceed from the premise that the first step in this direction should be the recognition by Japan of the results of World War II in full, including the legality of the ownership of the islands of the southern Kuril ridge to Russia,” Zakharova emphasized.

According to her, the search for a mutually acceptable solution to the issue of a peace treaty should be carried out in line with the comprehensive development of Russian-Japanese relations by increasing trade, economic and investment cooperation, building trust in the military-political sphere and converging positions in international affairs.

"Threatens security"

According to experts, the increasingly frequent territorial claims of Japan against Russia, as well as the joint exercises of the Asian power with the United States near the Russian borders, indicate that the situation is increasingly tense at the eastern borders of the Russian Federation.

“Japan unreasonably considers the islands of the southern Kuril ridge to be their own.

Tokyo wants to achieve the alleged "return" of these lands for many years.

The Japanese need to somehow expand their living space, the land for them is a very topical issue.

But the point is that Russia should not return anything.

Everything that she now has correlates with the norms of international law, "said Konstantin Blokhin, a leading researcher at the Center for Security Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, in a conversation with RT.

According to him, against the background of such territorial claims, it is no coincidence that the Japanese military, together with military personnel from the United States, are conducting exercises near the Russian borders.

• Coast of Iturup Island (island of the southern group of the Great Ridge of the Kuril Islands)

• RIA News

• © Anton Denisov

“Japan is the closest US ally in the Asia-Pacific region.

It is obvious that such support for Tokyo from Washington is due to the rather aggressive course of the United States to contain Russia and China, "Blokhin said.

He also believes that the Japanese maneuvers in the Hokkaido region and other parts of Japan in December speak of the intensified military-political integration of Tokyo and Washington "in spite of Russian-Chinese cooperation."

“In addition to Russia, China is also a headache for the United States, onto which they want to project their pressure with renewed vigor,” Blokhin said.

According to him, taking into account the December Japanese-American exercises in the Hokkaido area, we can say that the geopolitical situation near the Russian borders is becoming more and more aggravated.

“Such maneuvers near the borders of Russia are indicative of an anti-Russian and anti-Chinese character.

The context of these trainings also demonstrates the orientation against the RF and the PRC, ”says Blokhin.

Sergei Ermakov, an expert at the RISS Research Coordination Center, also believes that Russia's concern about the Japanese-American exercises near its borders is absolutely justified.

“It is caused, among other things, by the fact that such maneuvers are taking place at a very tense moment, when Russian-American relations are at an extremely low level.

For its part, Russia is doing everything to avoid an increase in the degree of confrontation, but it seems that the United States does not need this.

Washington is engaged in the militarization of Japan, which is already a serious military platform for the American Armed Forces, "the analyst said in an interview with RT.

Despite the statements of the Biden administration that it will give priority to diplomacy, there is a reverse action, in particular, it relies on military force, Yermakov stressed.

“Accordingly, all these exercises in Japan indicate that Washington is aiming at an arms race, to change the balance of power in its favor.

And this threatens the security of both Russia and China.

Against this background, the Russian side is forced to develop countermeasures, ”the expert concluded.