Russia’s Defense Ministry says it has deployed a mobile coastal defense missile system on the North Kuril Islands – part of a strategically located island chain that stretches between Japan and Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula.
Japan claims the southern Kuril islands, which are controlled by Russia and which Tokyo calls the Northern Territories.
The territorial dispute between Japan and Russia has been going on since the end of World War Two, when Soviet troops seized the territory from Japan.
Russia’s Bastion missile system, which has a missile with a flight range of up to 500 km, was deployed on Paramushir Island in the northern part of the Kuril Islands, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Monday (5/12).
“The Pacific Fleet’s coastal soldiers will continue to be on guard around the clock to control the territorial waters and adjacent strait zones,” said the ministry of defense.
The ministry said a military camp was set up in Paramushir with conditions allowing for year-round service, accommodation, recreation and food for personnel.
The deployment comes one year after Russia installed the Bastion system on Matua Island, in the central part of the Muril ridge, the ministry said in a statement.
The think-tank in Washington, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), said in a September report that went unnoticed because of the invasion of Ukraine, Moscow’s militarization of the Kuril Islands had “largely gone undetected.” “Russia’s move to increase its presence demonstrates that the islands will continue to play a detrimental role in the future of Russia-Japan relations,” according to the report, which was published on the CSIS website.
“Japan and the United States should deepen consultations regarding Russia’s activities in the region,” the report said.
Japan joined its Western allies in imposing economic sanctions on Russia after Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops to Ukraine, in what Russia called a “special military operation.” Ukraine and its allies say Russia is waging war for no reason.
Russia withdrew from negotiating a peace treaty with Japan and froze joint economic projects related to the Kuril Islands due to Japanese sanctions for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Russian submarine test fires a missile from the Sea of Japan
