Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters Wednesday that the military drills on the island were unacceptable and the official complaint to Russia from the foreign ministry here was as per his instruction.
"The Northern Territories are an inherent part of Japan's territory, and we cannot accept the move," a foreign ministry spokesperson was quoted as saying.
Two of the four contested islets being used by Russia for the drill are Etorofu and Kunashiri islands. They comprise what Japan refers to as the Northern Territories and Russia the Kuril Islands.
The disputed islands also include the islet groups of Shikotan and Habomai.
The military drills are the largest Russia has conducted in several years, sources here close to the matter said, involving more than 1,000 soldiers, 100 military vehicles and as many as five attack helicopters.
The drills are aimed at bolstering Russia's ability to defend its remote islands, the sources said.
Russia's military drills come at a testing time for relations between Tokyo and Moscow following Japan slapping sanctions on Russia along with the European Union and United States in the wake of Russia's annexation of Crimea, and, more recently, as a punitive measure levied at Moscow for its alleged support of separatist forces in Ukraine.
Moscow has consistently denied such allegations and last week canceled a scheduled meeting between Japanese Deputy Foreign Minister Shinsuke Sugiyama and his Russian counterpart Igor Morgulov.
Another visit to Moscow by Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, originally scheduled for April, has also been indefinitely postponed.
Prior to the Ukraine issue, relations between Tokyo and Moscow over the territorial dispute had begun to thaw, with Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin scheduled to hold a summit here this autumn in a bid to resolve the issue.
Both parties have yet to confirm whether the summit will go ahead or not in light of the recent tensions.
Sources: Xinhua - globaltimes.cn
13/8/14
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Russia postpones foreign affairs consultations with Japan
Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs regrets the decision of its Russian counterpart to postpone the meeting of Deputy Ministers of Foreign Affairs Igor Morgulov and Shinsuke Sugiyama which was previously scheduled for August, a high-ranking Japanese official told RIA Novosti Tuesday....
Japan imposes additional sanctions on Russia over Ukraine
Japan-Russia territorial negotiations in question over Ukraine. -- Kyodo news agency
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Japan imposes new sanctions against Russia over Ukraine events...
ReplyDeleteTOKYO, September 24. /ITAR-TASS/. The government of Japan has expanded its sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine developments, Japanese officials said on Wednesday.
The specifics of Japan’s new sanctions against Russia are yet unknown. The Japanese news agency Kyodo reported that the sanctions limit operations with the securities of some Russian banks.
http://en.itar-tass.com/world/750957
24/9/14
Kremlin Notes Positive Development of Kuril Islands...
ReplyDeleteThe results of the work aimed at developing the infrastructure of the Kuril Islands are clear and positive, Russian presidential administration chief Sergei Ivanov said in an interview with the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper Wednesday.
Speaking about the Kuril Islands' Federal Target Program for development, Ivanov said its "first stage is over, and I went to inspect [the results]. The results are obvious. An airport was built, the roads were built."
According to Ivanov, before the development program was initiated, there was nothing done to improve the infrastructure of the islands: there were no roads, no airport, no berths, no hospitals and no schools.
Ivanov also commented on the reaction of the Japanese authorities to his visit to the disputed islands, saying that their reaction was surprising, as he was visiting one of his country's regions...............http://en.ria.ru/russia/20141015/194101844/Kremlin-Notes-Positive-Development-of-Kuril-Islands.html
15/10/14