What are Japan`s plans for the Kuril Islands: the Russians will leave – the Americans will come

[basilone_john]

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, like all his predecessors in this post, has repeatedly expressed his country's position on the southern Kuril Islands. This position is that the islands are allegedly the original territory of Japan and that the Japanese sovereignty extends to the southern Kuril Islands. Moreover, Abe intends to sign a peace treaty with Russia during his staying in power, resolving a territorial problem, i.e. returning the Kuril Islands to Japan.

The Prime Minister of Japan notes that the discussion of the issue is based on all the documents and agreements that have been reached so far. At the same time, he noted that the Japanese-Soviet Declaration of 1956 is the only document ratified by the parliaments of the two countries, and it remains valid.

However, Moscow does not want to give Tokyo the islands, since they are of great strategic importance for Russia. With the hypothetical transfer of Kunashir and Iturup Islands, Russia will no longer be able to control the entrance to the Sea of Okhotsk. The transfer of the islands under the jurisdiction of Japan will take from Russia control of Katherine's Strait between Kunashir and Iturup Islands, which does not freeze at all and allows the fleet to go to the open sea.

Furthermore, Russia is undoubtedly worried about the increased military cooperation between Japan and the United States, and as a result, it is assumed that as soon as the islands are transferred to Japan, American military bases will appear there. It is worth recalling that, according to the 1960 Treaty on Mutual Cooperation and Security Guarantees between the USA and Japan, Washington has the right to "create and use military bases throughout Japan, and also deploy any amount of weapons on them". However, as the Japanese authorities specify, the Americans cannot increase their presence without the special permission of official Tokyo.

And yet, the fact that, in the event of the transfer of the Kuril Islands to Japan, American bases sooner or later appear on them, is undoubted. According to international experts, this will definitely happen - the United States will be able to deploy bases there at any time. From a financial point of view, there will be no problems at all: when it comes to geopolitics, Washington takes the matter very seriously and understands all the importance. Americans are able to deploy bases there very quickly and they can create it within a month.

Moreover, it is known that Shinzo Abe made it clear to the President of the United States that the Japanese administration would be able to provide territory for the deployment of the American missile defense system on Iturup Island, which is best suited to bring down intercontinental ballistic missiles that are directed towards the US. It is known that the American air defense system "Aegis Ashore" is planned to be deployed in the prefectures of Yamaguchi (which is located on the island of Honshu) and Akita (which is located in the northern part of the country), but from these two points it will be difficult to perform such actions. Iturup Island is the best one for this. According to the Abe Cabinet, these actions will also contribute to the protection of Japan from ballistic missiles.

At the same time, the deployment of air defense systems on Iturup Island will give the American authorities the opportunity to block the base of the Pacific Fleet, which is located in Vladivostok city and will make it possible to quickly track the launches of Russian missiles from the Sea of Okhotsk.

Thus, the Southern Kuril Islands, the transfer of which the government of Japan requires, will become a perfect location for American missiles. According to the US military, the location of air defense systems on Iturup Island will allow the United States and Japan to be protected from North Korean ballistic missiles. It is alleged that the weapons placed on Iturup Island will be able to strike the missile at an early stage of its launch - even before the separation of the warheads, which will increase the chances of it being shot down. Undoubtedly, Tokyo will meet its American allies and as soon as the islands come under the jurisdiction of Japan, construction and deployment of American military bases will begin there.