Russia strengthens military in Kuril Islands in response to US military action

(Baonghean.vn)- Recently, at the International Economic Forum in St Petersburg, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the reinforcement of Russia's military in the disputed Kuril Islands was in response to US militarization actions in the Asia-Pacific region.

Sputnik news agency quoted President Putin as emphasizing: "The reason we are strengthening our military capabilities in the Russian Far East and especially the Kuril Islands is not Russia's initiative, but the rest of the world - Europe."
Also in his speech, the Russian President expressed concern about the US deployment of missile defense systems in the region, including the installation of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in South Korea.

Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo: Kremlin

“We are constantly thinking about how to respond (to the expansion of the US missile defense system). We are considering measures to respond to missile defense systems. The same situation is happening in the (Kuril) Islands, we are considering ways to eliminate security threats to our remote border areas,” the Russian leader stressed.

In addition, the Russian president said that the US would have a military presence on the Kuril Islands, once Japan regains control of the disputed territories – this is the first time the Russian leader has expressed public concern about the US troops stationed there.

Japanese lawmakers expressed concern at the Russian president's speech. Moscow and Tokyo have only recently agreed to coordinate on joint commercial projects in the Southern Kuril Islands, scheduled to begin in 2018.

The Kuril Islands, located in Russia's Sakhalin region, form a volcanic island sea that stretches 1,300 kilometers from Hokkaido, Japan, to Kamchatka, Russia, dividing the Sea of ​​Okhotsk from the North Pacific Ocean. Photo: AP

Russia and Japan have a long-standing dispute over the Pacific islands, which Russia calls the Kuril Islands and Japan calls the Northern Territories. This has prevented the signing of a peace treaty between the two countries since the end of World War II./.

Lan Ha

(According to Diplomat)