Russia strengthens coastal defences in the disputed Kuril Islands
RT.com – Jan 3, 2023
Moscow stands ready to thwart threats from a Japanese military buildup near Russian islands in the Far East, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko has said.
Kuril islands. Click to enlarge
The statement came after Japanese broadcaster NHK cited the country’s Defense Ministry in late December as saying that Tokyo was planning to deploy supersonic missiles on the island of Hokkaido, which borders Russia’s Kuril islands in the eastern Pacific, the southern part of which Japan claims as its “Northern Territories.” Moscow condemned the move at the time.
“We consider Tokyo’s activities a serious challenge to the security of our country and the Asia-Pacific as a whole,” Rudenko stated, in an interview with TASS news agency on Tuesday.
“If such practices continue, we will be forced to implement appropriate retaliatory measures in order to block the military threats Russia faces,” the diplomat added, condemning the “expedited militarization” of Japan and the “unprecedented” increase in its military budget.
In 2017, then-Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe unveiled a plan to revise the country’s pacifist constitution, adopted shortly after World War II under the auspices of the US. Although the document bans Tokyo from maintaining a standing army, Japan has formidable self-defense forces. Abe said at the time that the reform would make their status “explicit.”
Last month, the Japanese government approved a record $51 billion draft defense budget for fiscal year 2023. Tokyo also revised its National Security Strategy, allowing for the acquisition of “counterstrike capabilities.”
It has become “increasingly difficult to fully address missile threats with the existing missile defense network alone,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said in December, citing threats from China and North Korea.
Japan, together with many Western countries, imposed sanctions on Russia following Moscow’s military offensive in Ukraine launched last February. It also sent military supplies to Kiev, including flak jackets and helmets.
Russia has since blacklisted several top Japanese officials, including Kishida, for waging “an unprecedented anti-Russian campaign.”
This is typical US power chess in an attempt to have Russia keep more balls in the air, than they’d typically like to do.
For 50yrs, the Japanese have gagged their economy at Amerikas behest, and trashed their finances by aiding the Yen/banking carry trade.
This is chaff.
The Japanese opened back-channel negotiations with Russia a long time ago, there’s no problem here.
My guess is the push is on to get people to think WWIII is on. So both Russia and Japan play their part. But Japan has land all over the world and is not really concerned over a few barren islands. And Russia don’t want them either.
Just more fear porn. File it in the usual junk drawer.
No doubt American mischief put the Nips up to this.
Remember Biden made Rahm Emanuel Ambassador to Japan a yr ago. Cohensidence?
Given that Russia is still technically at war with Japan, the Japanese threats are beyond stupid. It illustrates that like Europe, the Japanese government is in the pay of MI6/CIA.
Oh Oy (((history)))….
Japan was at war with Russia in the early 1900’s
If Japan had progressed before or during the Bolshevik Revolution,…Lenin and crew would have had to fight a war on both a Western and Eastern front…and Bolsheviks likely defeated.
The Jews had supported Japan at the time…hoping to take out the Czar….but later switched alliances by betting on Bolsheviks.
Thus Germany would not have been humiliated at Versailles after WW1 ..and WW2 likely never have unfolded.