Not only Ukraine: tensions also for the Kuril Islands in the Pacific
The possible degeneration of the Ukrainian crisis is not the only source of tension involving Vladimir Putin's Russia. On the other side of the former Soviet territory, the Federation has never managed to reach a peace agreement to put an end to the so-called "Kuril Islands dispute", an archipelago located in the Pacific Ocean, disputed by Japan and Russia since the end of the Second World War.
A few days ago, the islands were also the subject of skirmishes between the Russian Pacific Fleet and a US nuclear-powered attack submarine. According to Kremlin sources, the United States violated the rules of international law after the submarine, despite constant Russian warnings, decided not to leave national waters.
The American presence in the Pacific waters has its origins in the alliance between Japan and the United States, united by the control of the archipelago for at least two main reasons: one historical – more sensitive to the Japanese shore – and the other strategic.
The first. The dispute between the two states has lasted since the nineteenth century. A first partial solution came in 1875 through the signing of the Treaty of St. Petersburg, by which Russia renounced sovereignty over Kunashir, Iturup, Shikotan and Habomai – the four islands geographically closest to Japan – in exchange for sovereignty on the island of Sakhalin – a few miles from the Russian territory, characterized by important deposits of gold, coal, iron, silver and titanium.
Having emerged victorious from the Second World War, the Soviets claimed possession of the entire archipelago, obtaining it formally, but without the recognition of Japanese power. In 2005, in a series of declarations concerning relations between China, the EU and Taiwan, the European Union itself called for the return of the southern Kuril Islands to Japan. The hypothesis, of course, was shattered by Russia's sharp no.
Second reason, sensitive to the Americans. This summer's visit by the Russian Prime Minister, Mišustin, to the archipelago marked the beginning of the construction of 51 military infrastructures, in addition to the massive missile deployment already present in the islands. Added to this are the numerous oil and gas fields – crucial above all for the West, given that 40 per cent of European gas is imported directly from Russia – as well as abundant quantities of Rhenium, a decisive metal for the construction of military equipment. , also essential in the event of a possible invasion of Ukrainian territory.
Returning the archipelago to Japan after more than seventy years of Russian occupation would mean handing over important strategic military bases to Tokyo and, therefore, consequently, also to the United States; which could also count on the acquisition of an immediate outlet in the Pacific Ocean with the US Navy.
In short, if Japan makes a claim above all of a territorial type, for Russia, the Kuril archipelago has become a strategic issue, able to cope with part of the country's high degree of militarization. Handing them over to the American "enemy" would result in an own goal, capable of damaging the Russian-Ukrainian front as well.
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This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Atlantico Quotidiano at the URL https://www.atlanticoquotidiano.it/quotidiano/non-solo-ucraina-tensioni-anche-per-le-isole-curili-nel-pacifico/ on Tue, 22 Feb 2022 03:44:00 +0000.