Kuril Island

Escalating tensions between the Western alliance and Russia have revived the long political dispute between Moscow and Tokyo, a NATO ally, on the islands in the Pacific.

The Ukraine conflict has increased tensions between NATO and Russia not only across Eastern Europe, but also in the Pacific region, where the US-led Western alliance and its Asian allies like Japan face an assertive China and Russia.

Fearing China’s regional ambitions, Japan has further entrenched its ties with NATO, which wants to limit both China’s and Russia’s reach across the globe, including in the Pacific region. Under US protection and backing, Japan has become more vocal on regional issues and its Kuril Islands dispute with Russia is gaining traction.

In March, as the Russian offensive raged across Ukraine, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi revived Tokyo’s claims on the southern Kurils, describing the region, which it refers to as its Northern Territories, as an “integral part” of the Pacific state.

In response to Japan’s hardening stance, Russia, which has controlled the entire Kuril island chain, including its southern portion, since 1945, announced its withdrawal from peace talks with Japan addressing the Kuril Islands dispute.

Russia even conducted military drills in the disputed region in late March in a show of force against both Japan and the Western Bloc as the country’s foreign ministry blamed the US for “keeping Japan’s artificial territorial claims against Russia afloat in order to keep both countries from full-scale and long-term cooperation.”

What is the dispute about?

The Kuril Islands is the name of an island chain located between Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula and Japan, a country in the Pacific comprising thousands of islands. The Kuril island chain has been a disputed territory between Russia and Japan since at least the mid-19th century.

Russia’s expansion to the Far East, which has continued, gradually, since the 17th century, brought Moscow into contact with certain Pacific nations, including Japan, with which Moscow has had tense relations and continuing disputes since the late 19th century until now.

Among various Pacific disputes, the Kuril Islands dispute has emerged as one of the main results of the ongoing territorial competition between Russia and Japan. From the 19th century until now, the Kuril Islands chain — or some parts of it, at least — have, at different points, changed hands between Russia and Japan, making it one of the most long- standing conflicts in the Pacific.

Because the island chain is located in a strategic region close to both Japan and Russian territories, Moscow sees its presence in the Kuril Islands as an effective and crucial measure in keeping US power in the Pacific in check.

The Kuril Islands dispute involves several challenging questions, including which specific islands should be considered official parts of the Kulin Islands and which islands should be under Russian or Japanese control.

The definition of the borders of the Kulin Islands is important because Russia currently claims sovereignty over the entire island chain, which includes 18 islands.

On the other hand, Japan believes that four southernmost islands of the chain — Iturup (Etorofu in Japanese), Kunashir, Shikotan and Habomai Islands close to the Japanese territory — are not part of the Kulin Islands.

TRT World