It is arguable that the use of the occupied Kuril Islands for this military exercise is to signal to Japan that China will help Russia defend them in a contingency. With the Russian military so bogged down in Ukraine it is likely Russia could not hold these islands if the Japanese made a move on them:
In this handout photo released by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, Chinese troops march during the Vostok 2022 military exercise at a firing range in Russia’s Far East, on Aug. 31, 2022. Beijing has been increasing its military cooperation with Moscow and has been taking part in the multilareal joint drills “Vostok 2020” held in Russia’s Far East since late August.(Vadim Savitsky/Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP, File)
Japan has protested to Russia over multinational military exercises being conducted on Russian-held islands claimed by Japan, and is seriously concerned about shooting drills by Russian and Chinese warships off Japan’s northern coast, an official said Monday.
Beijing has been increasing its military cooperation with Moscow, and has been taking part in the multinational “Vostok 2020” drills since late August at a number of locations in Russia’s far east.
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno criticized Russia for holding exercises on two of the four disputed islands, which Japan calls the Northern Territories, in the Kuril chain off Japan’s northernmost main island of Hokkaido. It was not clear whether China was part of the exercises on the disputed islands.
He said Japan’s Defense Ministry spotted six Russian and Chinese warships firing machine guns into the Sea of Japan about 190 kilometers (118 miles) west of Cape Kamui on Hokkaido on Saturday.
“Japan will continue to monitor the movements of these ships with serious concern, and will take all possible measures to conduct warning and surveillance activities in the waters surrounding Japan,” Matsuno said at a news conference.
You can read more at the link, but Russian and Chinese warships also passed through the Soya Straight between Honshu and Hokkaido once again demonstrating how they are trying to intentionally be provocative towards Japan.
This would be an interesting legal opinion to get on whether the Japanese pacifist constitution would allow them to conduct an offensive operation to reclaim land that was originally Japanese which is the case of the Kuril Islands. I doubt the Japanese would ever do such a thing though considering Russia’s nuclear arsenal:
Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida answers to reporters’ questions at his official residence in Tokyo Friday, March 11, 2022.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Thursday during a House of Councillors committee session that the northern territories are being “occupied illegally by Russia.”
The government had avoided using such an expression to promote negotiations for a peace treaty that would address the northern territories issue, but has now changed its stance in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
According to the Foreign Ministry, this is the first time a Japanese prime minister in the Diet has referred to an “illegal occupation” regarding the northern territories since 2009, when then Prime Minister Taro Aso used the expression. At that time, Russia criticized its use, saying it was an attempt to challenge Russia’s sovereignty.
This is why the Russians hurried to seize the Kuril Islands after World War II and have refused to give them back, it is all about keeping the Sea of Okhotsk a giant Russian lake:
The Kuril Islands
A Russian government source said the document obtained by Kyodo News was drawn up sometime after this summer. It remains unknown whether the plan was approved by Putin. Russian media recently reported on the envisioned military buildup in the area. By setting up a defense line around the islands in the Sea of Okhotsk, Russia is aiming to keep foreign vessels out of the waters where its nuclear submarines are deployed, while also securing the free navigation of the Russian Pacific Fleet, which is headquartered in Vladivostok. According to the document, new shore-to-ship missiles systems called the Bastion, with a range of more than 300 kilometers (over 180 miles), and the Bal, with a range of over 130 km (over 80 miles), will be deployed on six islands and on the Kamchatka Peninsula. Missile systems were deployed in 2016 on Etorofu and Kunashiri, two of the four islands and islets off Hokkaido that are claimed by Japan.
Russia stands on disputed territory everywhere: in the southern Kurile Islands off Japan, in Abkhazia and South Ossetia off Georgia, on restive Muslim areas in the Caucasus, and now in Crimea. Closer to Central Asia, it rules several additional Muslim populations like the Tatars, who don’t have their own states only by the whim of early Soviet cartographers. More than 20 percent of Russia’s population are minorities, since historically Russia’s borders have fluctuated wildly. It thus needs reminding that discarding territorial integrity can have serious consequences elsewhere.
The United States should issue a strong statement supporting Japan’s ownership of the southern Kurile Islands.
Reengage—loudly–with the Europeans and Tbilisi launching Georgia’s NATO Membership Action Plan.
Refer to Chechnya and Dagestan as “disputed” areas, at the UN and other multilateral fora.
Nothing would rattle Russian confidence like the prospect of United States officials meeting – even expressing interest in meeting – opposition leaders in Dagestan. And perhaps the Tatars should have their own state as well. Maybe the UN should look into it.
Yes, there are many ethnic Russians in Europe. There are also many non-Russians in Russia. Let the Kremlin chew on what real revisionism would look like. [Fiscal Times]
This will probably annoy the Russians, but would the Russians actually believe anyone would follow through on the threats? Is anyone in Europe and the US ready for Operation: Kuril Freedom? Or better yet Operation: Chechnya Freedom? Few people have an appetite for military intervention now a days and Putin knows this and is why he taking advantage of this while he can in the Ukraine.
