PUTIN PLANS VISIT TO DISPUTED ZONE IN ‘SNUB’ TO TOKYO
Amid a long-running territorial row over Kurils, Japan’s support for Ukraine is another reason for Russia to hit out at ‘unfriendly state’, analysts say
Russian President Vladimir Putin has promised to pay a visit to islands off northern Japan that were seized by Soviet forces in the closing days of World War II but are still claimed by Tokyo, in what analysts see as a calculated snub to Japan.
In a town hall meeting in the Khabarovsk region that was broadcast on state television on Thursday, Putin responded to a question about visiting the Kuril Islands, which are known in Japan as the Northern Territories.
“I have heard that [the Kuril Islands] are interesting, but unfortunately I have never been there,” Putin said. “So I will definitely go.”
Replying to another query about the possible development of the travel sector on the islands, the Russian leader said it would be the “right direction”. One potential area of development would be the modernisation of the airport on Kunashiri Island, he said.
The islands of Kunashiri, Shikotan, Etorofu and the Habomai islets were controlled by Japan in 1945, and were home to farmers and fishermen. Virtually all of them were expelled after Soviet forces landed on August 18, three days after Japan had surrendered to end the war.
Ryo Hinata-Yamaguchi, an assistant professor of international relations at the University of Tokyo, said: “It was only a few months ago when [Russian Foreign Minister Sergey] Lavrov said the dispute with Japan was over and that sovereignty was ‘no longer negotiable’, so this looks to me as if Putin is reaffirming that position.
“But in doing so, he is also obviously giving two fingers to Japan,” he added. “I do not believe a visit to the islands by Putin will make the relationship any worse than it is right now, but we will have to watch what he does if and when he does travel to the island.
“If Putin goes there and repeats that the islands are Russian territory, then that is not very different from what has been said before,” he said. “But it would be more significant if he proposes or orders specific development of the islands.”
Announcing the construction of major port, airport or military facilities on the island would be a shift in the status quo in the region.
“I also see Putin’s comments as designed to appeal to his domestic audience,” HinataYamaguchi said. “This shows the Russian people that they are not backing down in the West, and that they are equally able to stand up when they are confronted in the Pacific.”
James Brown, a professor of international relations who specialises in Japan-Russia affairs at the Tokyo campus of Temple University, said Putin’s plan to visit the disputed islands was “revenge” against Japan.
“Since the start of the invasion [of Ukraine}, Japan has imposed a number of sanctions and been strong in its support for Ukraine,” he said. “Russia has been looking for ways to hit back, which they have done by listing Japan as an ‘unfriendly state’, ending peace treaty talks and banning imports of Japanese seafood.
“But each time that Japan adds some support for Ukraine, Russia feels it has to respond and find ways to annoy Japan,” he said, pointing out that Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa was in Ukraine this week.
On-off talks between Russia and Japan over sovereignty of the islands took place for decades before the invasion of Ukraine, but no solution was forthcoming.