China isn’t the only country embarking on an
island-building campaign on disputed territory.
On Thursday, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev
reaffirmed that Russia will launch a civilian and military build-up on the
Kuril Islands, which Japan also claims.
"We’re restoring both the civilian and defense infrastructure of
the Kurils," Medvedev said, according to Russia’s state-owned media.
Medvedev went on to explain that this initiative would be led by the
Russian armed forces and Defense Ministry. "The Armed Forces, and the
Defense Ministry of Russia are dealing not only with the military but also with
the civilian component," the Russian premier said.
Medvedev also announced that he will be visiting the Kuril Islands
shortly. "I am planning to go there and have a look how matters stand
there,” he said. He further encouraged other Russian cabinet members to visit
the islands.
The decision to build up the islands’ infrastructure, as well as have
the Russian prime minister and other cabinet members visit the Kuril Islands,
is likely to set off tensions with Japan. Tokyo has long claimed the islands,
and previously occupied them under the terms of Russia and Japan’s first
bilateral treaty, the Treaty of Shimoda, signed in 1855. Soviet forces seized
the islands in the waning days of WWII, and Russia and Japan have technically
remained at war ever since over the dispute.
Medvedev has a history of placing special emphasis on the Kuril Islands.
Indeed, when he was the president of Russia back in October 2010, he visited
the Kuril Islands, the first time a Russian or Soviet leader had elected to do
so. Medvedev’s trip to the Kuril Islands was followed by other senior Russian
officials, including the defense minister, visiting the islands. Naoto Kan,
Japan’s prime minister at the time, characterized these visits as “unacceptable
rudeness,” and Ruso-Japanese relations deteriorated accordingly.
For a brief time period after Vladimir Putin reassumed the Russian
presidency and Shinzo Abe became the Japanese prime minister again, it appeared
that Moscow and Tokyo might resolve their long-standing dispute over the Kuril
Islands. In April 2013 Abe even traveled to Russia for a summit with
Putin, at which both leaders directed their government to work towards a
resolution to the dispute.
This peace initiative, while promising at first, was derailed when Japan
sided with the United States and Europe over Russia’s actions in the Ukraine.
Since then, Russian-Japanese tensions have been rising steadily.
In fact, some even connect Russia’s new initiative
to build-up the Kuril Islands as a response to Abe’s decision to visit the
Ukraine last month. During that visit, Abe declared his support for President
Petro Poroshenko.
In discussing the new initiative on Thursday, however, Medvedev said
building up the Kurils was necessary to protect Russia’s frontiers. “It is
necessary to join efforts, all the more so as the islands performed and will
continue performing not only the usual function but also the function of
protecting our frontiers. That is why, special attention is paid to the units
of the Russian Armed Forces present there”
Medvedev also said the new initiative would help encourage more people
to move to the islands, while also improving the lot of the people already
living there.
“The purpose of the new program is to improve the living conditions on
the islands, as much as possible, in order to attract people to the region, to
ensure those who already live there with jobs, and provide all the necessary
social infrastructure such as kindergartens, schools, medical facilities,” he
said.
Russia has been discussing trying to build up the Kuril Islands’ social
development for some years now, and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu
announced an acceleration of these efforts last month.
Zachary Keck is managing editor of The National Interest
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